In War, Resolution
by Pookie2
Summary: "Fighting continued, blood was spilled, and many lived and died, just as they had in the Old World. Because war... war never changes." Part 13 of the "All the Things You Are" storyline. Rated for language, violence, sexual content.
1. Let No Heart Be Faint

The sun was starting to dip behind the horizon as Layla and Boone walked away from Nellis Air Force Base, where the Courier had laid out the plan for the upcoming battle to the Boomers. The NCR brass wanted them to set up a very rigid plan with a timetable, but Layla had decided against it. Now they had an established flight plan for their completed bomber, but wouldn't attack until the signal was given from the flare gun Loyal had given them which now resided in Layla's bag.

Boone hadn't understood the need for the signal flare, but Layla had made it clear to him: she didn't like General Oliver's plan. Chief Hanlon had explained it to her, and she'd found it too rigid and precise. It would fall apart the moment something was out of place.

"And if I've learned anything about war," she'd said, "nothing works the way it's supposed to." The sniper couldn't argue that. The general was just going to have to be happy with it.

They were meeting with Oliver at the dam tomorrow. Layla had never actually met him. They'd missed being formally introduced a few days ago due to the assassination attempt on the president. The Courier had seemed more upset about missing a formal event than the actual meeting; she wasn't exactly happy with either Oliver or Kimball's politics.

It was now twilight, the worst part of the day for a sniper. Just as bad for enemies, though. Since the Legion had gone back to just trying to kill them, he'd been on the guard for sniping positions. If the Legate had any sense, he'd try to have Layla picked off from a distance.

Speaking of which, they were getting in range of the houses that surrounded outer Vegas. Drawing his rifle, Boone began searching windows.

Sure enough, there was a legionary poking a rifle out of one of the abandoned houses. Boone quickly took him out and looked around for others.

One good thing about the Legion; they were terrible snipers. They didn't work in teams, they didn't seem to have much training, and Boone had only ever seen one scope on any of the rifles he'd pulled off their corpses.

"Woah!" he heard from his side, followed by gunfire. Layla had her shotgun in hand and fired at something behind him. More Legionaries had sprung up from a hiding place further back.

That was smart; keep Boone looking in the distance while they snuck up from behind. Double checking the houses beyond them, he turned as Layla fired her eighth shot.

Eight shots. Layla had modified her hunting shotgun to hold more rounds a while back. She'd asked Boone to help her install the new barrel, something he'd been happy to do.

Shaking away the thought, he found three Legionaries coming after them, and two were too close for him to take aim with his rifle. Slinging it quickly, he drew his machete and launched himself at the closest, a Vexillarius, and cleaved his head in two.

Freeing his blade, he barely dodged a thermic lance swung at him by the last Legionary in range. The assassin thrust the weapon forward, and Boone managed to hold it off with his machete. Ducking under another swing, he punched his blade through the other man's chest.

He heard a cry and whipped his head around to find the final Legionary, a Praetorian, had gotten past Layla's shotgun and knocked her over. He now had her pinned to the ground.

Boone felt cold anger pour down his spine as he ran over and kicked the man hard in the face, knocking him off. Before the Legionary got a chance to recover, the sniper's machete was already in his throat. Pulling it out of the man as he died, Boone turned back to Layla.

She was still on the ground, rubbing the back of her head. Taking his offered hand, she let him help her up.

"You okay?" he asked as she checked her hand for blood, then pulled her hair out of its bun as she massaged her skull again.

"Yeah, just bumped my head." Taking her hand away from her head, she looked around the immediate area.

"That went well," she said, smiling. "Thank you, by the way." He nodded, and after quickly looting the bodies, they continued toward Vegas.

"Maybe I should get around to actually paying you for all your hard work," she said after a few moments, making him look back her way. There was a mischievous look on her face as she moved closer to him. Leaning up on her toes, she kissed him on the cheek.

He hadn't been expecting that, and figured it showed on his face when she blushed prettily at him. He held eye contact with her long enough to see her expression change, matching the intensity of his own as she launched herself at him.

His arms were around her in an instant, one hand tangling in her hair as she kissed him like her life depended on it. She was nearly hanging off his neck by her arms, then hiked one leg up on his hip to raise herself higher. A few moments later, they'd broken into an abandoned house. He started working the belts on her armor as she kissed his neck frantically-

Boone's eyes snapped open. He stared at the 38's ceiling for a moment as his head started to clear. He could hear Veronica snoring on the other bed.

Sitting up, he ran a hand over his scalp. That… that was a different version of what had happened last night. Very different. The trip back from Nellis had been quiet, and he'd gone to bed early, alone.

The door opened, and Layla poked her head in. She saw him and smiled.

"Oh good, you're up. We gotta get moving soon." Looking Veronica's way, she frowned. "GET UP!"

"AH!" Veronica cried, rolling off the bed.

"Good morning!" Layla said as she went back into the hallway. "Get a move on, breakfast is already on the table!"

"Bitch," the scribe muttered as she heaved herself off the floor. Boone shook his head as the last of the dream faded.

*.*.*

Layla rubbed at a spot on her armor's chest plate, then berated herself for being nervous. She was sitting in one of Hoover Dam's many hallways, waiting to meet with General Oliver. She didn't even know why she was nervous; Oliver didn't scare her. Honestly, she was getting to the point where the only people who could scare her wore skirts.

She was starting to think the pressure was getting to her, however. Since Arcade had left to help the Followers prepare, it had felt distinctly like there was no turning back. Everyone at the dam gave her strange, hopeful looks, like she was expected to wave a magic wand and make the problems go away. She certainly hoped she had the answers everyone seemed to think she did.

"Hey," came from her side. She looked over to Boone, who was sitting next to her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Layla only mildly lied. She noted his unbelieving look, and found herself glad she'd taken him to this meeting. She liked to think the sniper gave her an official air among the NCR. That, and he tending to make people think they couldn't get away with trying to intimidate her.

Official reasons aside, he was a constant calming force. In the last few weeks, she'd really come to depend on him as an anchor while the world around her went nuts.

"He's ready for you," Lt. Colonel Gregory said, breaking up Layla's thoughts as she stuck her head out of the general's office. She grinned. "Try not to get in a fistfight this time."

Layla probably would have laughed at that if she wasn't in such a bad mood. Instead she gave a ghost of a grin and stood. Soon they were ushered to the office space where the general had taken temporary residence.

It wasn't very hard to figure out which one was Oliver. The room was filled with officers and veteran rangers, but only one man wore a hat and shirt covered in stars. He was shouting at the rangers while stabbing the map spread on the meeting table with his finger. One of the rangers noticed them and drew the general's attention.

"Who is this?" he barked. "Are they letting every random idiot come waltzing into the command center? Where's security?" He turned back to Layla. "Can't you see we're busy! I don't have time to deal with this shit! You're not just pissing on me, you're pissing on the whole Bear!" the man growled at her. Layla's mouth hung open, and she found herself unable to form a response.

"Sir… this is the Courier; the one who worked the president's security detail," said the ranger at his side, sounding a little exasperated. The general's ire seemed to suddenly deflate.

"Oh, yes. We've been expecting you." He looked her over. "You're… not what I imagined."

"I'm sure," Layla said, holding back a sigh. The general didn't seem overly concerned with his faux pas, instead gesturing to the map spread on one of the tables.

"I've been told about what you've done for us," he said. "You've got the NCR's gratitude. Are you ready to help us end this conflict?"

"I am," Layla answered automatically, and the general continued.

"We're in a unique position to take the fight to the Legion," Oliver said. "Mainly because of your help. Their position is weakened, and I don't want to lose the opportunity to take advantage of it. Right now we're waiting on reinforcements, then we'll attack."

Layla nodded. "How long?"

"A few more days at most," the general answered. "I want to spend that time refining our plan. We'd like you and you team to stay here until we're ready to attack. And I understand you've managed to find us non-NCR military support?"

"Yes. I think the Brotherhood paladins are already here," she said. "I've spoken to the Boomers about their deployment as well. And the Followers have set up their medical station. That leaves my team, and they have their orders."

"Yes," Oliver answered, sounding a little cautious. "Well, I'm glad we have you on board," he said. "We'll start working your plans in with ours tomorrow."

*.*.*

Raul sat at an old wooden table, cleaning his guns. The whole group was gathered, aside Arcade. Even Lily was with them, despite the slight bouts of severe schizophrenia. A wet-behind-the-ears private had escorted them to their new quarters, where they waited for Layla and Boone to return. The room was lined with bunk beds and a few lockers, with the table in the center.

The others were nervous, Raul could tell. Except for Cass, but that was undoubtedly due to the half-empty whiskey bottle in her hand.

"Well, look who's back," the caravaneer said as Boone and Layla walked in. "What's the good word?"

Layla looked somewhat irritated as she blew out a long breath. "Oliver's planning to attack the Legion sooner than we thought."

"Isn't that good?" Veronica asked, looking up from the dinner the NCR had provided. "We're as prepared as we're going to be. Why aren't you happy?"

"Because we're waiting on reinforcements," the Courier said exasperatedly. "Officially ordered through proper channels, probably stamped with an important-looking seal so no Legion spies could possibly miss it."

"So they're going to know about this if they don't already," Raul said. shaking his head. "What's the plan?"

"We'll go along with Oliver's strategy until something goes wrong," Layla said, then climbed up on the top bunk closest to her. "I want all of you to be on alert. It could happen at any minute."

"Yes ma'am," Cass said, saluting her. The Courier gave her a tired look and lied back on the bed. Boone settled on the bunk below her and started pulling his rifle apart.

"What's for dinner?" Layla asked, head tilting up slightly.

"Iguana on a stick," Veronica answered around a mouthful.

"Hmph." The Courier's head flopped back down. "Guess it can't always be steak and beers, huh?"

"Well well, someone's gotten spoiled," Cass drawled.

"She's a high-maintenance date," Raul added, making the girl sit up, "Always has to have purified water and unirradiated food when we're traveling."

"I've already had severe radiation poisoning once, thank you. And I'm not nearly as bad as some of you," she grumbled.

"Oh yeah?" Veronica said, looking up at her. "Who's the worst then? It's got to be Arcade. The hair gel costs alone..."

"Nu-uh," Layla said from her perch. "He doesn't even come close."

"Well, who then?" the scribe asked, then pointed a kebab at the other girl. "And repair on ridiculous electronic pew-pew lasers counts toward the total."

"Boone's the most expensive of all my dates," Layla said, nudging him with her boot. The sniper gave her an impassive look, then went back to cleaning his gun.

"What?" Veronica gave him a side-long look. "Did you put him on an all deathclaw omelet/Nuka-Victory diet or something?"

"No," Layla said firmly. "But do you know how expensive his ammo is? Half his guns cost four caps to fire. The .50 cals cost eight a pop."

"Good gravy!" Veronica cried. "I sure hope he puts out."

"Oh you know he doesn't," Cass said conversationally, taking a pull from her whiskey. "Do you think either of them would be so tense if he did?"

"I've got a delivery for Layla Granville!" came a call from door. Raul noticed the girl's relief at the distraction; she'd already turned an interesting shade of red. The ghoul also noted that Boone was making a good show of ignoring them all as he oiled his gun, though he did look up as a private approached with a box in his hands.

"It's from the Mojave Express," the kid said, handing the box to Layla. "Lt. Colonel Gregory said all deliveries for you were to come through directly."

"Thank you," the Courier said. The private nodded and left. Veronica had now climbed up on Layla's bunk, perching on the edge and looking over her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"Care package from Utah," Layla said with a smile, "and perfectly timed."

She ripped the tape off the box and was soon grinning from ear-to-ear as she pulled out a few boxes of .45 ammo.

"I was almost out. Guess I don't have to cancel the war," she said, shaking the box.

"I thought it took weeks to get packages from Zion. Didn't you just sent a letter to them?" Veronica asked, looking at one of the boxes of bullets.

"Trade's gotten much better," Cass piped up. "Since the White Legs retreated all the way back to the Great Salt Lake, caravans can use the better roads. Now it only takes days instead of weeks each way."

"Ah," Veronica answered, soundly mildly interested. She watched as Layla continued rooting through the package.

"Who's the letter from?" the scribe asked as Layla pulled out an envelope.

"Sorry, it's private," she said, then lied back down and nudged the other girl off the bed. Veronica landed on her feet, but gave the Courier a dirty look.

"What? Did you find your true love out in Utah?"

"Hardly," Cass grumbled. Oddly enough, she didn't go any further into it. Usually she'd at least throw a crack in about Layla's love life.

"It's from one of the New Canaanites," Layla answered as she opened the letter. "He's a nice guy-"

Cass snorted loudly.

"He's the one who gave me my .45," the girl continued, ignoring Cass. The Courier quieted as she read her letter, then put it back in its envelope and tucked it into one of the inner pouches of her armor.

"Well," Layla said hopping off the top bunk, "I'm going to bed."

"Do you usually go to bed by getting out of bed?" Cass asked.

"I've been given my own quarters," Layla said, then exaggeratedly looked down her nose at Cass. "The NCR feels I shouldn't have to bunk with the riff raff."

*.*.*

The cot they'd given Layla was lumpy. She didn't complain though; she was relieved to have a few minutes to herself.

She had expected Boone to raise a stink about this set up, not wanting her to get murdered by Frumentarii in her sleep. She'd pre-empted his protests by taking along ED-E, who hovered around the room, ever-alert for trouble.

However, as she sat in the quiet she'd been hoping for, she started feeling like the walls were closing in on her.

"ED-E," She said to the robot, who turned his cameras her way, "play something quiet, would you?"

'In the Shadow of the Valley' began playing from the eyebot's speakers. Layla smiled.

"Thank you." She tried to get comfortable in the bed again, wondering if the robot knew that song was her favorite. She almost felt herself slipping off to sleep, but her mind started turning in directions she didn't want it to.

Just as she was thinking about finding something to read, there was a quiet knock on the door, and she sat up.

"Come in," she called, beyond grateful for a distraction. She found herself mildly surprised to see Lily hunch down to step into the room.

"Hello dearie," she said cheerfully. "I thought I'd check in on you ."

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Layla said. "I'm fine."

"Mmm hm, you can't fool me," the super mutant admonished. "You need rest, but you're up and it's late."

Layla frowned; she thought for a moment to put on a brave face, but Lily always seemed to know when she was upset. "I guess I'm a little nervous."

"Aw, is this your first battle, dear?"

"Well…" She frowned again. "I've been in a few skirmishes. But this is… big. Really big." She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them.

"There, there dear." Lily sat on the bed next to her. The metal groaned from the super mutant's weight, but held. "It'll work out, you'll see."

Layla hadn't expected that to push her over the edge. She hadn't even known she'd been on the edge, for that matter. Nonetheless, she suddenly burst into tears.

"W-what if we don't win? Or what if I get someone killed? What if I get them _all_ killed?"

Lily gathered Layla into her arms as she started sobbing. "Sssh, it's okay dear. They chose to be here, and you've done everything you could to make sure we win." She looked down at the girl. "I can't promise we'll all make it, but we're fighting because we have to."

The Courier sniffled. "I know… but."

"No 'buts,' missy, you've done all you can, and you've got nothing to regret. You fight as best you can when it comes."

Layla nodded into the super mutants arms. Lily hadn't said anything she didn't already know, but hearing it from someone else did make her feel better.

"Thank you, Lily."

"That's what grandma's are for." She gave the girl a squeeze. "Even pretend ones."

The Courier smiled, then leaned her head on Lily's huge arm as ED-E played her song again.

*.*.*

The sun wouldn't rise for another two hours, but the moon was large tonight and provided plenty of light. That proved both a blessing and curse. Orianus knew he could been seen just as easily as he could see his target. The NCR position, Ranger Station Echo, overlooking Cottonwood Cove, usually had a standing force of six rangers.

Rangers were a dangerous target, smart and quick. And this particular station was always on alert for Legion movement. Fortunately, Orianus and his contubernia had come across the Colorado river further north, and were able to stealthily approach the ranger station from the hills.

A ghoul ranger was standing by the entrance, smoking a cigarette. That the NCR would let such a creature into their elite troops just further proved the need to destroy them. Orianus put his disgust for the mutant out of his mind. There was work to be done.

Signaling to the men behind him, he raised his spear and threw. The projectile caught the ghoul ranger in the thigh. He let out a raspy cry, which was soon joined by shouts and shooting from the compound. The four men he'd sent around to scale the station's walls had clearly done so. By the time Orianus stepped over the dying ghoul, there was only one profligate standing.

The last one had managed to take down three of his men before Orianus put a spear through his heart. He sputtered and fell to his knees as his blood drained from the gaping wound in his chest.

"Make sure that radio is destroyed," the Prime Decanus called, and one of his veterans nodded and stalked off.

No word had been sent out, and this station wouldn't be expected to check in for another few hours. He would send a runner to let the others know of their success. Gaius Magnus, his centurion, would be pleased; they would be able to quietly get their soldiers across the river with no interference.

The NCR didn't know it yet, but the final battle for the Mojave had just begun.

* * *

><p>Saints alive! I can't believe we're at this story already D:<p> 


	2. Let Every Arm Be Steeled

Everything was coming to a head. Even if he didn't have his NCR connections whispering about their preparations, he could tell. It was in the air; war was coming. Ranger Andy was stood in Dinky's mouth, binoculars to his face. There hadn't been any visible movement yet. Not that it surprised him; if they were going to attack, they wouldn't come from the east, where they could be seen from the most obvious lookout post in town. At least, not at first.

Manny Vargas opened the door and threw himself into a folding chair with a groan.

"Another day in paradise," the ex-Khan grumbled. After a moment, he seemed to notice Andy's rigid position. "What is it?"

"Don't know," the ranger answered. "Bad feeling."

That had Manny on his feet, rifle in his hands. "Go check on the town. I'll keep watch."

The ranger nodded, biting back a sigh; Manny was a good sniper and an alert man, but Andy secretly wished they had Boone backing them up. There was no sense wishing for what they wouldn't get, though. The other man would have his hands full with Layla and the Dam.

Walking down the stairs to the gift shop, he saw Cliff nod to him.

"Hello, Andy. Can I get you a drink?"

"No thanks," he said politely. Cliff seem to notice the edge in his tone.

"Haven't seen a caravan in a few days," the store owner continued. "Not normal for people to keep off the roads."

Andy nodded. "Certainly isn't."

The other man thought for a moment, then stood. "I'm going to have everyone get into the motel and close the gates."

The ranger nodded again. "That's probably a real good idea." They had spoken about taking this step earlier. In fact, Cliff and Andy had gone door-to-door explaining the situation to everyone, and asking that they band together in case the Legion decided to attack.

Some hadn't wanted to leave their homes, even temporarily. The McBrides in particular were very unhappy about the idea. But eventually all had agreed to staying in the motel to ride out the storm.

"I just hope No-Bark doesn't think I'm trying to steal his brain again," said Cliff.

Andy chuckled, despite himself, then followed the man out. As Cliff headed out into the buildings circling the motel, Andy went and found Ada Straus as she wandered the outer houses of Novac.

"Is it time?" she asked. "Because I sick of waiting."

The ranger merely nodded, and the woman and her guards followed him back to the motel. In truth, he wasn't overly fond of the woman. That probably had to do with the time she'd recommended irradiating his leg to stimulate his 'healing factor.'

But, beggars couldn't be choosers, and she was the closest thing to a doctor they had. So he led her to Novac's third bungalow, which Cliff had opened up for them in preparation. By now, the people of Novac were coming into the motel area, spreading out between the rooms. Only two rooms wouldn't be used, both at Layla Granville's request. One was her personal room, but she'd handed Andy a copy of her key and told him to get anything he needed from it if fighting did break out. The other was Boone's room. The man barely returned to his former home anymore, but Layla had asked that it remain undisturbed.

"That's just about everyone," Cliff said as Andy rejoined him in the motel's courtyard. "I'll go lock up the gate."

*.*.*

Manny watched as Cliff moved off to the gate, then looked east out of Dinky's mouth. There was something just out of his sight, so he raised his rifle, looking through the scope.

Legionaries. Enough to be a full contubernia. They were standing in a line, facing Novac's direction, not moving.

His trigger finger itched, he could take maybe half of them before they got to the town. But why weren't they moving?

He heard it then; screams. Looking back towards the town he saw a decanus cut down one of the townspeople while at least three recruits rushed ahead to attack others. The sniper heard Ranger Andy's magnum firing but, couldn't see him.

Manny suddenly remembered the line of Legionaries and looked back east. The contubernia was coming for them now.

*.*.*

The Courier squared her shoulders as she approached her target. If she screwed this up, there would be trouble and plenty of it. Lieutenant Gorobets turned just as she reached him, and immediately gave her a smile.

"Morning, Layla," he said. "How're the plans going?"

"Oh just fantastic," she answered, noting the irritation already surfacing in her voice. Oliver's planning meetings had started early. She'd come outside to find Gorobets during a break. Layla hadn't realized how slow and boring this process was going to be. Usually she came up with her half-cocked ideas on the fly or on the way to accomplish them.

"Can I have a word with you?" She asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"Of course." He followed the Courier as she began walking the length of the dam's walls. She took a deep breath and decided to just spill it all out.

"This is very important and secret, and I'm kind of breaking a promise doing this. But I think someone needs to know," Layla said rapidly.

"All right, calm down," Gorobets said, stopping their walk to face her directly. "What's wrong?"

"It's not that something's wrong, I just want you to know about something I failed to mentioned to the brass."

"What is it?"

Layla opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "You're going to have to trust me on this…"

"Layla, I think I've figured out you're one of us by now," the man laughed. "Now what is it?" She took a deep breath, then answered.

"There's going to be a squad of Enclave soldiers joining us during the attack. They'll be on our side. So don't shoot them"

Gorobets stared at her a moment, then started laughing. He caught his breath after a moment.

"Are we starting a rumor to get the ranger vets in a dander?" he asked with another laugh.

Layla rubbed her forehead and noticed the grin slide off Gorobets' face.

"You're not serious," he said. When she didn't answer, he nodded. "Okay, you are." He pulled his beret off and scratched his head.

"All right," he said, replacing the hat. "Okay, we won't shoot any Enclave members we happen to see." He shook his head, then looked back up at the Courier. "Do I even want to know?"

"No," Layla said firmly. "I couldn't tell you anyway."

"You must really want to win this thing," the Lieutenant said with a laugh. "Did you train any deathclaws for us?"

"Not yet." Layla was finally starting to relax. "I have to say, you're handling this well."

"Layla, you see a lot of strange things in war," he answered. "If you tell me you've found allies in the biggest threat to our country a generation ago, then I believe you."

"I wish there were more of you in the world," the Courier said sincerely.

Gorobets laughed. "Could you forward that in writing to my wife?"

*.*.*

The war room was fairly large, with a long table in the center. There were desks along the walls as well as chalk boards with diagrams scrawled all over. Every surface was covered in reports, maps and coffee cups, and the walls were coated in photos and more maps. Layla certainly hoped that the correct plan was going to be used, there were older versions of disregarded ideas among the papers.

She'd brought that up with Lt. Colonel Gregory, but the officer assured her there was a system to the mess. She decided to trust the woman, and turned her attention back to the people in the room.

"All right," General Oliver began, "Granville…" Layla looked up. "Let's get started on the plans for your people. I don't want there to be any confusion."

The Courier bit her lip. "I'd like Cass to help with security at the medical station." She was pretty sure she saw the woman stiffen at that. "I haven't quite figured out what to do with everyone else yet."

"Well, I'd like them all laid out by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. By then we'll have a timetable for the Boomers," Oliver said. "Can one of your people deliver it?" The Courier felt the pressure on her lip grow, knowing this moment had been coming.

"The Boomers aren't following a timetable."

Oliver gave her a strange look, then shook his head. "Could you repeat that?"

"I've worked out a flight plan with them, but they aren't following a direct timetable. I've got a flare gun to signal both the bomber and their howitzers."

"I was told they were working with us." Oliver was starting to sound angry.

"They are working with _me_," Layla said firmly. The rest of the room had grown quiet.

"And you're working with us," the general said.

"Yes, but I've got my own plans for the people I've brought here."

"If this isn't the biggest bag over the head," Oliver started. "Listen, missy, if we don't work together on this, we're all going to be sorry."

"I agree," Layla said simply, "but that doesn't mean we'll be following your direct orders."

"Let's take a few minutes to get our heads straight," Lt. Colonel Gregory said before Oliver could answer. "We're not going to accomplish anything going in circles."

The general gave Gregory a hard look, but nodded. After another awkward moment, everyone started to leave the room.

*.*.*

"Let me see it," Layla asked, and Veronica handed over her power armor helmet. The Courier put it on, then snorted.

"It's okay, I guess."

"I'm sorry it doesn't meet your high standards," Veronica shot back. "When have you ever dealt with power armor before, exactly?"

"I have my ways," Layla answered, handing the helmet back. "Are you sure you'll be able to move okay in that? I mean, you have to run around punching people in that mess."

"Believe me, linking a power fist with power armor ends very badly for anyone on the receiving end," the scribe said.

Layla nodded, then looked over the group gathered in their quarters. Boone was leaning against he wall by the door, arms over his chest. Raul was lying on one of the bunks with his sombrero over his eyes. Lily was fixing the sheets on all the unoccupied cots. ED-E hovered above her, chirping merrily.

"What's this about me going to the medical station?" Cass bellowed as she stormed into the room, making Layla jump. She turned to find the older woman giving her a cross look.

"Is this some kind of crack because I got fucked up a week ago? Because it's bullshit."

"Cass," Layla put her hands up, "calm down, I'm not-"

"If it had been you in that ambush, you'd be Lanius' new bearskin rug by now."

"Listen, you have to understand-"

"You think I can't take care of myself anymore? Or I need to take it easy? Well fuck you!"

"Cass, please!" Layla all but shouted. That stopped the caravaneer, and she waited for the girl to speak again. "I put you there because I need someone keeping an eye on the doctors. They're here because I asked them, and I know Oliver won't give them much for protection. So I need you to guard them and the wounded."

Cass didn't speak for a moment, then glowered. "But you know they're not even going to get hit."

"No, I don't know that," Layla retorted. "In fact, because you think they won't, they probably will. You know those bastards, they just love pulling shit you didn't expect."

The older woman frowned, looking like she was trying to think of a comeback. Instead she sighed. "Fine. Fine, I understand." She gave the girl one last glower. "But if I don't get to shoot at least one of those bastards…"

"I'm sure it'll come up," Layla said placatingly. Cass snorted, then took a swig from the bottle she'd pulled from her jacket. Layla watched as the caravaneer walked off, moving to talk with Raul. The older woman said something that made the ghoul laugh, then offered him a drink of her liquor, which he accepted.

She hadn't told Cass the whole truth; there were a lot of reasons Layla was sending her to the medical station. Protecting the Followers from a Legion attack was very high on the list, however. Cass could think on her feet and had a protective streak, even if she didn't like to admit it. She'd do everything in her power to keep the noncombatants and wounded from harm.

Layla was also hoping to put her out of direct combat for another reason, one she wouldn't ever tell the woman. If the Courier died, Cass would have sole ownership of New Vegas, as per Layla's will, which was safely tucked in Mr. Nash's safe in Primm.

In all honesty, she'd rather have all her friends locked up somewhere safe for this fight, but she doubted they'd go for that. She also knew she needed them to be here, to be where she couldn't be, to do the things she wasn't able to. Layla was very aware that she'd never have made it this far without the people she'd come to share the Lucky 38 with. They were all capable, smart and good in a fight.

Layla had asked during breakfast if anyone wanted to leave before it was too late. The group as a whole had looked up from their food without a word, then gone back to the heated debate over whether Nuka-Victory or Nuka-Quartz was the better drink.

So they'd made their decision, and Layla would honor it by putting them where they could do the most good and praying they'd make it out of this alive.

"Miss Granville?" She turned to find a ranger in the doorway. "We're meeting up again."

"Thank you." She looked at her team. "Ready?"

*.*.*

"All right, you've all got your orders," Gorobets said, looking over his team. "Bravo squad will be taking over at night. Once it's time to attack, I'm sure we'll be the first to know."

The members of 1st Recon's Alpha squad chuckled as the Lieutenant finished. He put his sunglasses on, hefted his gun over his shoulder, then turned back.

"Oh, and if you see any Enclave soldiers, don't pay them any mind. Dismissed."

No one moved. 10 of Spades started laughing at what he apparently assumed was a joke, then quickly stopped when he noticed no one had joined him.

"Care to repeat that, sir?" Sterling asked. Gorobets gave the man a casual smile.

"If any Enclave soldiers or officers show up, don't worry about it."

"Oh, good, I thought I'd heard that wrong," Betsy said flatly. "Should we ignore the Legate and any swarms of Cazadores we happen to see while we're at it?"

"What I'm going to ignore is any backtalk, and you're going to get into you positions," Gorobets said, then noticed Sterling shaking his head.

"This is Layla's doing, isn't it?" the older man asked.

"Who else?" Gorobets laughed. "Also: you don't know anything about them, you didn't see them, and you certainly have no guesses as to why they are here."

"Of course…" the ex-ranger sighed.

"Lieutenant?" came a voice from behind them. "I've got a message from the General's office."

Gorobets turned to find a young kid with a letter in his hands. He reached out to accept it just in time to see the C4 packets attached to the kid's chest as he pulled a detonator from his pocket.

*.*.*

"Sir, we've got very little coverage for our internal operations," Lieutenant Brixby spoke up. The man was in charge of the comm stations and command center's personnel. "If the Legion gets in here, it'll be chaos."

"They'll never get that far," Oliver said dismissively. "Well, fuck. If they do, they'll have already taken out the infantry, rangers and command, so you'll be good and fucked anyway."

"We can leave a few paladins to be sure…" Paladin Todd started, but Oliver shook his head with a cross look on his face.

"No. It's unnecessary. I'd rather your men stay up near the gates."

Todd nodded, still making a face. The Brotherhood paladin had been butting heads with Oliver since he'd arrived. Layla also noticed the mildly annoyed look Brixby was giving the general. She'd managed to keep her mouth shut for most of the day about troop placement, but she got the feeling it wouldn't last long. Contingencies: there were no contingencies in Oliver's plan. All Layla could see was Vulpes Inculta's smug face at the NCR's simple, straightforward assault.

Never mind the elephant in the room: they hadn't spoken again about Layla's team or the Boomers. It was only a matter of time before-

"Granville," Oliver said, getting Layla's attention. "What's your plan? If you're not going to consult me, at least tell me what it is."

"I only have a few things so far." She was pretty sure he'd try to work on her to get things more the way he wanted. For now, she'd play along. Looking at her group, she continued. "Boone, I'd like you to set up on one of the guard towers," Layla said, pointing to the four structures on the map. "Best bet will probably be in one of the rangers' or 1st Recon's blind spots."

"I'm going with you," he said tersely.

"Good, the more sniper coverage the- what?" She looked up as his words finally hit home. "Oh no you don't. You're going up on a tower where you'll be most effective."

"You need someone to watch your back," he argued.

"Boone, don't' be ridiculous, you-"

"Where are you going?" he cut her off.

"I'm going with a pack of vet rangers. Anders, Presley, Castles and I have a job."

"What's your target?"

"…Lanius," she admitted with a sigh. She noted Veronica gaping at her and Raul shaking his head. "Listen, I know you're just trying to look out for me-"

"I'm going with you," Boone said again, arms crossed over his chest now.

"Oh will you two just fuck and get it over with!" Cass cried. The whole room went quiet, and Layla saw just about every head turned in their direction.

She could feel the blood rushing to her face. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, when a private burst into the room with an engineer in tow.

"The Legion is attacking the Dam!" the engineer cried.

"Oh thank God," Layla said.

* * *

><p>Tee hee, I don't know if you folks have seen the Fallout Confessionals on Tumblr, but one of my suggestions went up yesterday. :3<p> 


	3. The End of the Beginning

"Razz is down!" Poindexter cried as he fed another magazine into his rifle. Mags threw a grenade, then looked back at her team.

"Is he dead?"

"Not yet," came the downed man's reply as Mags caught sight of him. Shot in the hip by the look of it. He wouldn't be able to do much walking until the bullet was out.

The Legion had attacked not long after dawn. There had been little warning; they'd woken up for morning PT, and by the time they'd suited up for the day, there were screams and gunfire coming from the southern end of the camp.

Now there were Legionaries everywhere. Mags didn't even understand why: Golf wasn't an important target. Surely they'd be hitting the dam at the same time, but why were they here? The best she could figure was that they didn't want the vet rangers here to back up the troops at their main objective.

She'd hardly seen any of the rangers since the fighting broke out. How could they not know they were under attack? She didn't like to dwell on the thought that they may have been covertly attacked in the main building. They could all be dead already.

"We need to get him to a doctor," O'Hanrahan said as bullets whizzed by their heads. Mags put aside her concerns about the vet rangers for the moment.

"Yeah, grab him," she said to the redhead. "Cover our backs Poindexter. I'll take point." The two men nodded, and O'Hanrahan slung his rifle and bent down, grabbing the wounded man.

"Ow! Mother_fucker_ that hurts," Razz cried as the redhead hoisted him up. "Who the fuck gets shot in the hip?"

"Keep it down," Mags yelled as she shot down a Vexillarius advancing on them. The area was thick with Legion bastards, but they managed to get through to the medical tent with no further injury.

Stepping in, Mags gaped; the tent was almost full of wounded. There couldn't be many more people left on their feet if there were this many casualties.

"Get him on a cot and get back out there!" Sawbones cried when he saw them. "We're not winning this thing."

Mags grimaced, then squared her shoulders. "We can't give up."

"Well get back out there already!" the doctor snapped back. O'Hanrahan put Razz on one of the beds and rejoined them. Just as Mags was turning to leave, the tent flap was thrown open. Instead of more wounded, though, a group of Veteran Legionaries burst into the tent.

*.*.*

The war room had exploded into chaos. Oliver had shouted orders until the rangers hustled him off to the secure area of the office compound. Veronica looked to Layla and found her going over the dam map. Lawson, the engineer, was standing with her and pointing to the diagram while the Courier nodded, frowning.

"Raul, Veronica, come here," Layla called. Once they both approached her, she looked at Lawson.

"Tell them."

"The Legion, they came through the clogged up turbine," the engineer explained. "It got clogged a week ago. They must have been working on it the whole time. But if you get to the turbine's console, here…" He pointed to one of the balcony areas in the 03 power plant building. "…you can reengage the turbine. It'll damage the machinery slightly, but it'll grind up anyone in there like hamburger."

Layla was still looking over the map.

"I need you to take care of this," Layla said to them, still looking over the map. "Lawson said the terminal's a little technical, so you two are my best bet."

Veronica looked over the map, figuring out the quickest route to the location, as well as a few alternates.

"The turbines don't have any sensors?" Raul asked. "No automatic shutdowns to keep it from getting damaged?"

"No, they do," Lawson admitted. "It's unlikely they'll trigger, though. They were always buggy. But if the Legion knew about them, they could activate them. You'll have to go to the manual override controls here if the remote access doesn't work." He pointed to a spot outside of the dam, not far from the terminal. "There'll be a valve you'll have to release."

Veronica nodded. "We'll take care of it."

"Good," Layla said, then looked to the rest of her group. "Get to Arcade and the Followers," she said to Cass. "Lily, make sure she gets that far."

Cass looked eager to go. Lily had been oddly quiet since the attack had happened. Layla moved over to talk to both women while the others double-checked their gear.

"Boone, ED-E, you're with me," She said, turning back to the rest of the group. "Is everyone ready?"

Veronica nodded and saw the others do the same.

"Good." She gave them a wry smile. "Let's all try not to die, okay?"

"Great pep talk," Cass said as she stretched to crack her back, brush gun already in her hands. "Let's blow up some shitheads."

Layla nodded, drew her. 45 and started for the doorway. A group of veteran rangers was already there, and Veronica got the feeling they'd been waiting for them.

"Plans have changed," said Castles, the team leader. The Courier laughed.

"I noticed. You boys go on ahead of me. I need to get up to one of the towers and signal the Boomers. I'll try to get through to you after."

Castles nodded. "Good. Let's go."

The veterans took the lead, charging out into power plant 04, and Veronica could see one take a shot to the helmet almost immediately. Deciding to take the initiative, she barreled through after them.

The power plant was full of people; NCR, Legion and engineers. The scribe started for a group of Legion veterans about to corner a few of the civilians as she heard the rest of her group open fire.

The Legionaries didn't seem to have been expecting so many to pour out of the offices armed to the teeth. They started falling back just as Veronica reached them. She'd barely been able to punch a centurion's head off before the rest had disappeared into the next power plant.

Shaking her head, Veronica looked back. They'd only lost one of the rangers. The rest were splitting up. Layla approached Veronica and rapped her knuckle on the other girl's power armor. "This is where we part ways." She hesitated. "Be careful."

"Kinda hard to be careful during a battle," Raul said, and Layla put a hand on her hip.

"Well, at least try not to be too much of a hero. Both of you."

Veronica nodded back, and a moment later the rest of the group disappeared through the next set of doors. The scribe found Raul giving her an appraising look.

"You noticed she went running out to kill the flashy important people while we get to tinker with the machinery?" the mechanic said.

"The repairman's life is a thankless one," Veronica answered as she adjusted the seal on her helmet. "Not for those seeking glory."

The ghoul grinned slightly as he finished reloading his pistols. Soon they were making their way to the overflow terminal. Their path had been cleared out, and a group of NCR troops waved the two ahead as they moved to secure the next power plant.

The consoles that were supposed to work the turbines were covered in papers and snack wrappers. Brushing them quickly away, Veronica bent down to look at the screen.

"All right, here we are." Veronica said, and Raul looked over her shoulder.

"This is your department," he said. "I'll step in if you need a wrench swung at it." He reloaded his pistols. "Keep it quick; this has been a little too easy for my liking."

The scribe nodded, then started going through the console's programming. It didn't take long to find the turbine's overload command. It warned about the clog and damage, but Veronica eventually got to the override prompt. Just as she was keying it in, she heard Raul start firing his guns.

"How bad?" Veronica asked as she kept typing.

"Looks like they saved all their centurions for us."

Veronica grimaced, but it faded as she finished overriding the safety protocols. She smirked as the computer started loading the command. Then frowned.

"It's not working," she said. She heard Raul sigh as he ducked down to reload again.

"We're going to have to go outside and work the manual override," he replied. The scribe groaned.

"I don't know why we thought this was going to be easy."

*.*.*

"Happy now, Cass?" Boone heard Layla say as he finished off the last Legion veteran in power plant 01. "We've all had the chance to shoot plenty of Legionaries now."

"Yeah, great," the woman glowered. "This whole thing is fucked up. How the hell did no one notice the army was moving?"

"I don't know," Layla said with a shrug. "But there's nothing for it now. So we might as well keep moving."

The older woman gave her a frown. "When we get out there, Lily and I are breaking for the medical station."

Layla nodded. "I know. Be careful."

"I'm not the one I'm worried about," Cass retorted, reaching out and giving the younger girl's shoulder a squeeze. "Watch your back; you can't expect Boone to do all the work."

"Yeah, yeah," Layla said dismissively as she reloaded her gun.

"What's your plan?" the caravaneer asked as they reached the doors to the visitor's center

"We have to get up to one of the towers," Layla answered. "I'll signal the Boomers when we get there."

"There's a way through the building," Boone said. "We'll be exposed outside."

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't get a chance to go over the maps." Reaching for the handle, she looked back and found Boone ready. She opened the door and stepped out of the way while Boone went through, gun ready.

Nothing greeted them in the Visitor's center, much to Boone's surprise. He could hear gunfire, screams and thunderous booms outside. Mindful for traps, he led the way to the outer door. Layla moved up and grabbed the door handle.

"Ready?" she asked. Boone nodded along with Cass and Lily.

Layla opened the door, and again the sniper went first.

Bodies of soldiers from both sides were scattered along the cracked road. There were Legionaries this far back already. Boone couldn't tell if they'd come across from the other side of the dam or if they'd spilled out from their entryway at the turbines. Neither option was good; both meant they'd gone through a lot of NCR troops.

"Give them hell!" Cass yelled as she and Lily headed south toward the medical station. Boone readied his rifle and checked to make sure Layla was still with him. She moved a pace ahead, .45 out.

"ED-E, watch our backs," she called, and the eyebot beeped an affirmative. Together they moved toward the tower Boone had nearly been thrown out of during the President's visit. Their immediate area didn't have much for Legionaries. Layla did a decent job picking off the few that were nearby as Boone worked on the ones further away.

Not long after they started moving, Boone heard an explosion. He swung his rifle around in its direction. It had come from up on the hill, right where 1st Recon was supposed to be positioned.

Just as he was about to bring it up with Layla, ED-E stared beeping insistently. Boone saw the Courier looked back and grimace.

"Oh fuck." She started firing behind them.

"What is it?" the sniper asked, trying to line up a shot on a decanus coming their way.

"They must have doubled back; they're coming through the visitor's center."

Boone grimaced, then noticed they weren't far from the tower. Just as he was about to tell Layla to run for the structure, it's doors opened and Legionaries began pouring out.

He turned to try to find another way out when a flash from the Fort caught his eye, and he saw something in the sky coming their way. Before he had time to think, he dove, knocking Layla over as he did. She tried to sputter out a question as he wrapped his arms over her head, but the explosion answered for him.

The sound was loud enough to make his ears ring painfully. A wave of heat washed over them, and all other sound was muted. Boone could feel the vibrations of something heavy falling around them, and he was vaguely aware of Layla clinging tightly to him. He pulled her closer, thinking for a moment that their time was up.

A few moments later, as his hearing started coming back, he started picking up the sounds of screams. Opening up his eyes, it took him a moment to realize what had happened.

The Legion's howitzers had hit the huge anti-aircraft cannon that stood outside the dam, less than a hundred meters away. The shrapnel had rained around them, hitting both Legion and NCR soldiers. It was a miracle they hadn't been struck by it.

He let the Courier go just as he caught sight of ED-E lying on the ground nearby, unmoving.

Looking back, he found Layla staring at the chaos around them. It took a moment to realize what he was seeing in her eyes: terror.


	4. For the Morning Will Come

"How many people could possibly fit through a turbine?" Veronica cried from behind a pillar as another wave of Legionaries came pouring into the room.

"I think they're coming from above now," Raul responded as he ducked behind Veronica's pillar to reload.

"Well that's just great," Veronica sighed loudly, then turned her helmeted head his way. "You ready to go again?"

Raul adjusted his sombrero and leaned against the pillar. "Sure."

The scribe nodded, then counted out loud to three. On three, Raul leaned out from his spot and rapidly fired all six shots from both of his pistols at the oncoming enemy. In the wake of his bullets, Veronica surged forward, powerfist already swinging in the direction of the closest Legionary.

The ghoul quickly reloaded, glancing up to see what was happening. He'd managed to kill one and wound two of the oncoming group, including the centurion, he noted with some satisfaction. Veronica had taken out two more by the time he'd started shooting again, this time with only one gun as he took careful aim.

Raul had to marvel at how efficient he and Veronica were at killing Legionaries. A centurion, a decanus and a pile of veterans were all put down in only a few moments. Veronica had a few pings on her armor, and Raul had a new hole in his hat, but otherwise they would both walk away from another skirmish with no injury.

Frowning at the thought that he might have just jinxed them, he looked up to find Veronica finishing her quick check of the bodies. She held up a few boxes of ammo.

"Come on, gramps, no time to space out about how it used to be in the 'good ol' days,'" she said as she handed him the boxes. He didn't answer as he opened them and quickly shoved the bullets into one of his ammunition pouches.

Raul let the scribe lead the way out; she apparently had a better mind for maps than he did. A moment later they were outside and looking at the waterway for the Colorado river.

"There it is," said Veronica as she pointed at a red valve wheel. Raul frowned: their objective was currently blocked by another five Legionaries.

"For the love of…" Veronica grumbled, then waded in, fists flying. Raul shot the two that hadn't moved to engage the scribe directly. By the time the girl had pureed the men attacking her, Raul had finished off the others. Shaking the blood off her gauntlets, the girl cocked her head at him.

"All right, grandpa, it's your turn," she said, nodding toward the valve. "You're better at the big machinery than me." Raul moved to the valve and looked the mechanism over; it seemed to be in good working order. He heard his knees pop as he bent down to grab the wheel.

"Why is it I'm always the one who has to turn the rusted wheel with my brittle old man hands while you're a ninth my age and in power armor?"

"I want you to feel useful," the scribe said as she kept scanning the area for further hostiles. "It's important for the super-elderly to keep their minds active."

Raul mumbled in Spanish about obnoxious children as he tugged on the wheel. The tension started to give, and he continued pulling only enough to start releasing the pressure, not wanting to overload the turbine. There was a loud, metallic squeal, then the whir of motors running. Raul thought he could hear screams echoing from the tunnel, but he had to believe he was imagining it. By the time the sound of the turbine reinitiating had evened out, chunks of various ranks of Legionaries were floating out into the river.

Veronica looked over the water as it started turning a muddy red, then crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, that's done…"

"Yep," Raul said as he hunkered back down and opened the valve completely.

"Let's go find someone else to punch," the girl continued thoughtfully.

Raul rose to his feet, rubbing his knees as they creaked painfully. "Yep."

*.*.*

Cass and Lily ran down the road toward the Follower's medical station. The caravaneer had wondered if the Legion knew of its existence. But knowing that idiot Oliver, he'd probably sent word back to California, which meant everyone knew about it.

That was damn troubling; the Followers had expected to be removed from the fight. They probably had little to nothing for protection. In fact, Layla had planned for Cass to be their only backup, having assumed Oliver wouldn't worry about the doctors. When the Legion attacked ahead of schedule, there was no way the general sent troops back to make sure the Followers were okay.

They were coming up on the makeshift camp, set up on the old broken road that led to the dam and comprised of tents and a few sandbag barricades. Cass's worry grew as they continued. The camp was obviously not running as it should have been. No one was outside the tents. More disturbingly were the signs of battle: spent bullet casings, a gouge cut into the earth and a scorch mark that undoubtedly came from Arcade's plasma gun.

"Over here," Lily called, and Cass moved to see what she was pointing to. A dead Legionary was sprawled out on the ground just inside the perimeter of the camp. There were more as they moved further in. The dread was starting to settle in Cass's gut as she approached the main tent. Lily faded back behind her, waiting. Just as she started to reach for the flap, she heard a scream and the sound of a plasma gun firing.

Ripping the cloth away, Cass caught sight of Arcade just as he shot one of the fuckers with the feather caps. The man sputtered as he fell, blood burbling out of his mouth. Arcade noticed them and gave them a wry smile.

"Did our glorious leader send you to check on us helpless doctors?"

"She mentioned making sure you didn't get your petticoats mussed in the fracas. I know you doctors don't like to get your hands dirty." Cass said automatically, then looked around. Julie Farkas was in the back of the tent, along with a throng of Follower doctors, tending to wounded soldiers. Despite her relief that Arcade and the others were safe, she began to worry again at the sheer number of wounded soldiers.

Arcade seemed to pick up on her distress. "They caught everyone by surprise," he explained. "We're probably very lucky there aren't more wounded."

"How many have attacked you?" Cass asked the doctor.

"Just one contubernia," he replied. "It might have been more trouble if we hadn't seen them coming. I'm not sure they knew about us before they found us."

He opened the tent flap, and Cass followed him out. "Are you here to back us up?" he asked.

"That was the plan, but it looks like you don't even need us."

"Us?" Arcade asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, me and… Lily?" Cass looked back over her shoulder. The super mutant was no longer following her. Frowning, she peeked back into the tent, but there was no sign of her.

"Well, that's… weird," the caravaneer said as she rejoined Arcade. "She was just here."

"Did she have something else to do?"

"Well, yeah, but shit. I thought she'd at least let us know she was going before-"

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a deafening explosion from the dam. Cass gaped at the fireball that rose from the spot where the anti-aircraft cannon had been.

*.*.*

Lily moved quickly through yet another hallway. The building was massive, but she had to move quickly; the Master's will demands it. There were intruders in the Cathedral. Lily hadn't been able to link up with her unit. But it didn't bother her, she already had her orders and worked better on her own.

She'd gone back into the building to find chaos. There were people fighting everywhere, Children of the Cathedral and the intruders. She came upon a group of the attackers, pulled the bumper sword off her back and waded in.

The intruders clearly weren't expecting her, and she used it to her advantage. The first she approached was quickly cleaved in half, the next decapitated, and the last of this group crushed under her heel after she knocked him down. Lily was pleased with the results, but it was taking too long. She needed to get to her objective-

She pulled the Stealth-boy from under her flowered hat. She'd promised Doc Henry and Layla she'd never use one again, but these were extenuating circumstances. Digging in her medical pack, she pulled out the bottle of medication Dr. Henry had given her and gulped down a handful.

Her brain was tingling as she slipped on the Stealth Boy. Once she switched it on it felt like a super nova going off behind her eyes-

Then came clarity. She leapt off the catwalk and started running. Whenever one of the intruders came too close, she jabbed a hand into his back at the spine or the trachea if he was facing her. Though her enemies fell around her as she continued, none were able to figure out what had happened to them. None were able to see her-

Lily turned into a hallway to find a little boy who had skinned his knee. He was sobbing pitifully, so she bent down gingerly to pat him on the head.

"There there, sweetie, it's going to be all right," she said kindly. "It's just a bump. It'll stop hurting in just a moment. Now, where's your mommy? If you stand up, we can go find her and she'll kiss it better."

The boy looked up, wide eyes not focusing on her. "My… mother?"

"Yes deary," Lily said. "I'm sure she's worried about you."

By this point a few other boys came around and found them. They crowded around their injured friend.

"Come on," one of them said. "Let's get you out of here."

"But- did you hear that?" the boy with the skinned knee said as the others hoisted him up.

"Come on!" the others said as they hustled him back home.

Lily smiled as she watched them go. It was nice to see a bunch of youngsters act so sweetly to each other. Looking back down the hallway-

A Legionary had just pinned an NCR trooper against the wall and was about to run her through with his machete. Lily roared as she charged over to them and grabbed the man by the back of the neck, bodily throwing him away. She didn't have time to linger, so she just stomped on the downed Legionary. The man let out a hoarse cry-

Now that the intruder was dead, Lily turned back to the woman. The Child was young, probably only an initiate. She was casting her eyes around with a startled expression.

"Go, Brother Morpheus still has use for you," Lily said, then continued making her way toward her destination, not waiting to see the woman's response. She was still moving too slowly; the Children could handle themselves against mere intruders. Lily had a mission to accomplish, which meant she couldn't keep getting distracted.

Looking up, she saw the air vent and sighed. The Cathedral's vents were a tight squeeze, even if they were industrial-sized. Lily couldn't help but chuckle as she reached up to pull off one of the grates to the vent system. The Master certainly wouldn't want to hear of one of his perfected nightkin whining about claustrophobia.

A few moments later, she was shimmying through the vents. It wasn't as fast as she'd like. But she'd reach her target soon. Then her true role as an assassin would begin.

* * *

><p>I hope everyone's holidays are going well! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you on Saturday :D<p>

Oh, also, I've set up a tumblr recently. It's got info on my updates, what's coming up in stories and just random info. I'm under 'pookie02' if you're interested.


	5. Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat

Layla wasn't a battle-hardened soldier. Sometimes Boone forgot that. She'd seen violence, she'd fought people, but she'd never been in a large-scale battle. Even Zion hadn't been this bad; they hadn't been in the thick of it.

The Courier had never been exposed to a field of dead and dying men, half of them screaming, some reaching for you as you get near. Some part of him wished she hadn't had to see it, but it was too late now. The only thing that was important was survival. Later, when it was all over, assuming they survived, they'd deal with the horrors they'd seen.

The shock of the explosion had just about completely worn off by the time Boone got to his feet. Looking around, he found the only others on their feet were NCR troopers. There were Legionaries further east along the top of the dam coming their way, but they had a few minutes.

Looking back to Layla, Boone found her kneeling over ED-E on the ground. She pulled at a chunk of metal that had gotten lodged in his plating, then cursed and jerked her hands back; the shrapnel was undoubtedly hot. As she dug a rag out of her pocket, Boone remembered they were in the middle of a hot zone.

"We need to move," he said to her. "I'm getting you back to the medical tent." The Courier didn't seem to hear him as she pulled the foreign metal out of ED-E. She reached into his casing and fiddled around with the robot's components. A moment later, it sputtered to life.

"ED-E, are you okay?" she asked, a little loudly. The robot rose off the ground, shakily at first, then whistled. Layla nodded.

"Okay, we need to move," she said, then looked up as Boone took her arm.

"I'm taking you back to Arcade and Cass," he told her. She gave him a confused look as her hearing seemed to come back.

"No, let's keep going."

"I don't know if that's a good-"

"You're injured," she said, looking at his right shoulder. He followed her eyes to find a few cuts and scrapes, probably from shrapnel. He hadn't even noticed it.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "We need to move, now."

"I should at least-"

"Now, Layla."

She looked up at him, and he found himself relieved to see her senses to come back to her. He'd been just about to throw her over his shoulder and run for the medical station. The girl looked around, then focused on something behind his back.

"Oh shit! Come on!"

Boone turned back to see more Legionaries coming out of the visitor's center. Layla had already pulled her shotgun off her back and was firing in their direction.

"Let's get to the tower," he said, and the Courier nodded. She shot one more round at the nearest Legionary, then turned and ran after Boone.

*.*.*

Unbeknownst to Boone and Layla, a sniper rifle was aimed in their direction. The shooter picked off the remaining two Legionaries following them as the two companions scrambled into the guard tower.

"They're back inside," Betsy said over her rifle.

"Good," Gorobets answered. "Bets, I want you to keep an eye on them coming back out. Spades, stay on that same pack of rangers."

"Yes s-s-s-sir," came from the younger man. Gorobets looked back through is scope. Bitter-Root and Sterling had finished setting up at a point further north on the ridge overlooking the visitor's center. Gorobets didn't want a howitzer shell to take out the whole unit.

"You've got another group coming up the ridge," Sterling crackled over the radio. Gorobets didn't bother hiding his smile as he turned and looked down the path. Sure enough, a group of five Legionaries were charging their way.

"Anything good?" Betsy asked, eyes still on her scope.

"Looks like we've been deemed worthy of a centurion's notice," Gorobets answered.

"How many centurions are there?" Spades asked, sounding exasperated. "I've already shot t-t-t-two."

"I think they sent more than two to the battle," Gorobets said, still looking down the hill. The group had almost gotten close enough for 1st Recon to be in their range, so the lieutenant shrugged his rifle off his back. Instead of raising it in their direction, he dug the detonator out of his pocket.

The kid who'd tried to blow them up hadn't gotten a chance to use it. Spades had surprised them all and shot him with his side-arm before he'd detonated the charges. But there was no sense letting all the C4 go to waste.

The Legionaries who'd been advancing on them disappeared in an explosion of soil and rock. This was the third group they'd taken out this way. The blast collapsed the walkway leading up to 1st Recon's current position, leaving a sheer drop.

"Huh," Gorobets said as he picked off the lone survivor with his rifle. "Good news. We're all clear."

"What's the bad news?" Betsy called knowingly.

"We're also not going anywhere without help."

"Aw shit," the woman grumbled. "The rangers are gonna be dicks about it."

"They w-won't to Sterling," Spades answered back.

Betsy huffed, sounding unconvinced. Gorobets moved back to the others. Now that he didn't have to guard the walkway, he could concentrate on the actual battle.

*.*.*

Layla was relieved to find no one waiting for them in the guard tower. When she'd flung herself through the door, she'd been expecting it be filled with either Legionaries or dying NCR troops. Nothing was the best she could have hope for.

She, ED-E and Boone quickly reached the top of the stairs, and Boone lifted the hatch to the outside open, sidearm clutched in his hand.

Layla could admit to herself she'd lost it when the anti-aircraft cannon had been blown up. Not knowing what was going on, then the realization that had come with a group of dying soldiers screaming around her had proven too much.

It had been the sight of ED-E that had snapped her out of it. He'd been hit by debris in an empty area of his mechanisms, probably meant for upgrades. All she had to do was rip out the hunk of metal and reinitialize him, and he was back up and running. He was something she could fix, unlike the broken bodies that were scattered around her.

She'd run on auto-pilot for a few moments, but realized as they reached to the top of the tower she'd forgotten what they had come up to do. She had to keep thinking if she was going to make it out of this alive, especially if she planned on being any help. She'd deal with what she'd seen today later, when there was time. Even if the sight of the decanus who was still screaming, even though half his body had been crushed-

"It's clear," Boone called down, thankfully interrupting her thoughts. Layla nodded up at him and started to climb the ladder. Soon she was out on the top of the tower. Digging around in her pocket, she pulled out the flare gun, then looked around.

There were people everywhere, but the flight path the Boomers were set to follow looked like it would still hold well. She'd carefully explained the difference between Legionaries and NCR troops, thankfully quite different in appearance.

"As soon as you fire, get down," Boone said tersely from her side. "Everyone with a rifle will be looking up here. We'll need to get back in quickly."

"Got it." Layla loaded the green flare round. Pointing the gun into the air, she fired, then immediately dove down. Soon they were scrambling down the ladder and back down the stairs, not wanting to be around if the Legion decided to target the spot with their howitzers.

The good news was the Legions' cannons wouldn't be a problem much longer. Old Charlie at Nellis would be taking care of that soon enough.

*.*.*

The air vents was smaller than Lily remembered. But though she'd gotten stuck a few times while crawling through them, she was still making good time. Nightkin were swift and silent, making their kills efficiently, so Lily found herself quite happy that she'd hadn't gotten herself wedged in the air vents yet. It would just be a few more turns before-

Layla had asked Lily to take care of something for her. Frankly, the super mutant didn't like leaving the girl on the battlefield. She was with Boone and her robot, but trouble certainly did follow the girl like a shadow. It was unlikely she'd make it through this fight without coming to some kind of harm-

Now where was that old duvet set? Lily knew she'd stored it somewhere in this crawl space. She had to hurry; if any of the children found out about her secret stashing area, they'd be into it in no time. The little darlings certainly had a nose for adventure, and their grandma did keep all kinds of treasures in here.

She'd never forgive herself if one of the children got injured in here. Taking another turn, she felt a sudden headache coming on. She'd been having them on and off today, and was getting a little worried. She had to make six more pies before Christmas, and it was only a day away. There certainly wasn't time to rest if these headaches continued-

Pain wasn't anything she had time to think about. She'd reached her objective. Now all she had to do was wait. The Master's will would be done.

*.*.*

Brixby was pissed. He'd warned Oliver about doubting the Legion. They were going to learn from their mistakes. They hadn't pulled any punches before, and it had cost them half their army and their Legate. They were going to be crafty this time.

And now half the dam was fucked over. The comm center was already getting reports of Legionaries out as far back as the Follower's tents. Never mind they blew up the fucking cannon.

Their only hope was that the infantry would hold out long enough for the rangers to pick off the Legate. Or if the Courier managed to back up all the wild stories of her miraculous battle victories. Brixby couldn't help but be scornful; she and her team were supposed to be the backup plan. So where were they?

One of his comm techs waved him over.

"Epsilon squad has taken out their target. They want orders," Sergeant Kennings said rapidly. Brixby sighed; he was supposed to radio in for orders from Oliver, but if they sat there waiting, they'd be dead before the general got back to them.

"Send them to back up blue team near the northern guard towers," he said. Kennings nodded. Brixby was turning back to the map when he heard a thud and shouts.

A pack of Legionaries had just stormed through the door. Just as Brixby cursed himself for always being right, something strange happened.

The decanus that had charged in first was suddenly lifted in the air and went flying back into the rest of Legionaries. Before he could recover from slamming into his companions, a gash suddenly opened through his chest. Blood gushed from the wound, and he and the Legionary directly behind him sunk to the ground.

Before anyone else moved, another of the Legionaries was knocked over, and Brixby finally made out the shimmer of a stealth field as something put a huge, foot-shaped dent in the downed man's armor as he screamed.

It all happened so fast, he didn't have time to react. The last of their attackers was collapsing into a pool of his own blood, and suddenly their savior flickered into view.

"Are your men all right?" the nightkin asked briskly. Brixby managed to nod dumbly.

"Good. It's almost Christmas, so we can't have any roughhousing while grandma finishes her baking!"

"I... What?" Brixby sputtered. The nightkin patted him on the head.

"You be a good boy and you might get a cookie early. Now Grandma needs to get new orders from the Lieutenant. There are no further intruders in this area. Make sure it stays that way."

The nightkin disappeared as it reactivated its Stealth Boy, and Brixby saw the door to the comm station open and close before he could respond.

*.*.*

"Fall back," Boone said, sounding tense. Once they'd come out of the guard tower, the path to the eastern side of the dam had looked clear. But as they'd started running along the top of the dam, a large group of Legionaries had come out of the visitor's center and given chase.

Layla looked behind her. The dam had four intake towers stretching out in two sets, each set connected by a bridge. One was right behind them, the other on the further side of the dam. The bridge was clear at the moment, so she started toward it.

"Looks like a dead end," Layla said as she and Boone ran.

"There should be doors on each tower," he responded. "We can go down if we need to keep moving."

A few moments later they were leaning against the wall of the first tower, a pack of Legionaries still coming their way. Things didn't seem so dire once it became clear that the group marching toward them would get bottlenecked on the bridge.

Boone opened fire on the oncoming group as Layla reloaded. They were going to be okay, as long as they didn't make any stupid mistakes.

Boone hunkered down to reload his auto-rifle, and Layla took his place firing at the Legionaries. The advancing group hadn't made much progress under the constant barrage the two were throwing at them. Layla fired her last shot, taking out a Vexillarius. She smirked, moving back to reload, when something caught her eye.

"Oh… oh _fuck_." She ducked down, then looked up again to make sure.

"What is it?" Boone asked as he moved to her side, auto-rifle reloaded and ready.

"See the big guy with the huge scar on his face?" she asked.

"Yeah," the sniper answered as he kept firing.

"It's one of Vulpes Inculta's fumentarii. He was at Bitter Springs."

The sniper grimaced as he continued firing. He looked like he was about to say something when Layla heard a voice call out from behind them.

"After all this time, you still fall for traps so easily."

Layla turned, horrified to find Vulpes Inculta and a pack of Legionaries making their way toward them from the second intake tower. She and Boone were surrounded with nowhere to run.

* * *

><p>Oh no, does Vulpes know it's Christmas time at all? Thanks for reading folks, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas! I'm going to postpone the next chapter until the 31st. See you then!<p>

My editor would like me to apologize for the Christmas time joke.


	6. Finest Hour

Boone looked cautiously around the northern side of the intake tower, then immediately moved back as the Legionaries on the bridge beyond started firing. He'd never be able to get a shot off at this rate.

Moving back to the only spot on the side of the tower that wasn't visible from either bridge, he found Layla crouched down, holding ED-E in her arms. For a moment, Boone thought the robot had been damaged again.

"Be careful," the Courier said to the eyebot, letting it go. It floated up and took off along to the wall of the tower.

"I don't know if it'll do much more than buy us a little more time," Layla said as she watched the robot fly away, "but he's going to try to pick off some of them from the top of the tower."

Boone nodded. "Can't line up a shot before they start firing. We're going to have to wait until they come to us."

The Courier sighed. "I was afraid of that. Do you want the north or the south?"

"South," he said automatically. Vulpes was on that side. And if nothing else, Boone was going to put his machete through that asshole's face.

Boone looked back to Layla. She was gripping Joshua Graham's gun tight enough to make her knuckles turn white. She didn't look scared anymore, though. Her mouth was set in a grim line that bordered on a sneer.

"Layla," he said, and she looked back at him. The sneer immediately dissipated, replaced with a hopeful look. She must have thought he'd figured of a way out of this mess. Boone felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

"I'm… sorry," he said, and she looked confused. "Don't know if I can get us out of this," he continued, then found himself surprised at the smirk she gave him.

"It's not just up to you." She sighed. "I should be apologizing to you. I figured it was going to be me or Vulpes at some point. I just hoped he wouldn't take you with me."

"Wouldn't have gotten this far without you," Boone said automatically, without thinking. Layla gave him a thin smile, and he tried to get his jumbled thoughts in line.

"This isn't good timing, but I…" He tried to remember what he'd planned to say, but whatever it was had vacated his head.

The Legionaries on the south bridge were firing now. High, above their heads. Had to be after ED-E. The Legionaries wouldn't wait much longer to come after them.

He turned back to Layla, who was still waiting. Whatever had been punching him in the gut started up again, and he finally decided to just blurt it out.

"It feels like I can… I want to…" He felt his hands tighten around his rifle of their own accord. This wasn't his strong point, and it definitely wasn't a good time to talk about it. But he wanted her to know in case they didn't make it out. And maybe if they did.

"Boone," Layla said apologetically, interrupting his thoughts, "we don't have much time…"

"I feel like I'm ready to move on." That wasn't all he wanted to say, but it was all that came out. After a moment, Layla finally seemed to realize what he meant. She leaned back against the wall, and her face twisted. Boone thought for a horrible moment she was going to cry, but then she nodded.

"All right… See, now we really need to live through this." Her face screwed up into a determined look, then she suddenly slapped her forehead.

"The Boomers! Maybe I can get them to bomb that horse's ass." She pulled out her flare gun. A moment later, a red streak arced into the air above their heads and in the direction of the southern bridge.

"They're not going to just bomb us, are they?" Boone couldn't help but ask.

"I sure hope not." She put the flare gun away. "Vulpes isn't going to ignore that flare." She looked his way. "Are you ready?"

He nodded, and she smiled slightly.

"If this is it, thank you for staying with me this whole time," she said to him.

Boone felt a grin tug at his mouth as he answered.

"Thanks for talking me out of that dinosaur."

*.*.*

Cass dragged the last Legionary body from the medical area, swearing at the dead man the whole time. If the fucker hadn't died all over the station, she wouldn't have to drag his ass out of it. She kicked the body down a ravine and glowered.

Fucking Layla; Cass knew she was getting sidelined with this job. She was going to kick the girl's ass when she found her. The caravaneer started back for the tents, expecting to have to listen to injured soldiers for the rest of the day. As she got back in from the rear of the camp, she thought she heard a commotion coming from the entrance and made her way there.

"Hey!" Veronica waved her metal-coated arms when she saw the other woman. "We thought we'd check up on you. How's it hanging?"

"Boring," Cass grumbled. "What's going on in the dam?"

"Not much," Raul shrugged. "Unless they're lulling us into a false sense of security…"

"I don't think the Legion's very big on being sneaky," Arcade said sarcastically as he approached the group. "Anyone see Boone or Layla lately?"

"They're probably with the Rangers by now," Raul said thoughtfully. "Doing the flashy jobs, as usual-"

"Look!" Veronica cried as she pointed to the sky. A huge, silver plane was dropping bombs on the dam. Once it completed it's run, the plane flew over the medical station as it started to come around for another pass.

"Bet the Legion didn't see that coming," Veronica said, sounding pleased.

"Yeah, well…" Cass trailed off as she looked in the direction the plane had gone. As the machine dipped around a hill and out of sight, her eyes fell to the road leading away from the dam and the huge group of Legionaries coming toward them.

"Fuck," she growled as the others turned to see what she was looking at. "Arcade, get back in the tent. Tell everyone to get ready and stay in there. You're the last line of defense."

"That looks like half a century," the doctor said, sounding tense. "Where did they come from?"

"They must have crossed the river somewhere else," Raul said as he checked his guns and found a pile of sandbags to lean against. "That's not good."

"I don't care if they came from the moon, get in the tent," Cass said to Arcade, who nodded once before he did as she asked.

Cass stretched to crack her back again, readying her gun. Her fight was finally here; of course, she'd been hoping for better odds than ten-to-one.

*.*.*

Vulpes Inculta did love it when a plan came together. Though, in all honesty, this wasn't one of his most complicated endeavors. His moles at the dam had kept tabs on several key NCR personnel, the Courier included. What's more, Lanius had given him a specific assignment for this battle: see to it that the girl was no longer a threat. They'd come to an agreement that she should be put to death in view of her brothers-in-arms.

In the day he'd had to plan, the frumentarius had decided on a simple means to deal with his task: The girl would undoubtedly go for the quickest way to end the battle, which was Lanius. She'd have to come over the dam, so it was a simple matter of having a team back her onto the intake tower bridges.

It had worked remarkably well. They had caught the girl by surprise and cornered her easily. Once both she and her sniper had scrambled to the side of the tower, he'd made his approach.

A few of his frumentarii were still attempting to shoot down the Courier's robot as it hovered above the tower. So far they'd been unable to dispatch it, but the eyebot had scored two hits on his men.

He was about to signal the advance when a red flare shot up from the Courier's hiding spot. The light made a slow arc toward the legionaries, and Vulpes frowned. She'd just signaled the plane that had been dropping bombs over the dam. They had to move quickly.

"Go," he said to Armand, and the man nodded as he ordered his group to move on the intake tower.

"Blood Moon, vaditis" he called loudly.

"Pareo," echoed from the other side of the tower. Vulpes then made his way past Armand's group and around the unoccupied side of the tower. The girl was probably facing the north bridge, away from the side he would logically strike.

Just as he came around to see the northern bridge and Blood Moon's team starting their approach, he spotted the plane on its way.

Of his team, it seemed only Blood Moon realized what was about to happen; he dove down as the machine released a volley of bombs on the northern bridge. Vulpes was blown back by a wave of heat from the explosion and was only barely able to keep from getting tossed off the bridge.

Looking back north, he found most of Blood Moon's team in pieces. Blood Moon himself lay motionless on the bridge.

As he moved to see if the man still lived, he heard movement behind him and turned. The Courier had started toward the bridge, most likely thinking the way was clear. She saw him and brought her shotgun to bear, aiming it for his torso. Before she could fire, he sidestepped and lunged forward, swinging a fist into her chin. The blow staggered her, and her back hit the wall of the intake building.

As he moved in to strike her again, she swung her shotgun into his stomach. The blow wasn't hard enough to cause damage, and he was able to pull it free from her hands, dropping it to the ground. The Courier moved quickly, pulling an ornate handgun from her holster.

Vulpes moved automatically, letting training guide him as he grabbed the girl by the arm and twisted until she cried in pain and dropped her gun. She surprised him by delivering a fairly savage punch to his kidney with her free arm. He grunted, and the girl managed to squirm away from him and pulled a combat knife from her armor.

"You've come a long way from the quivering child in Novac who'd been nearly too frightened to speak, but I know you're still just a scared little girl." He moved to disarm her again as she narrowed her eyes at him, but swung his head back as she cut a line into his cheek. She'd been aiming for his eyes.

"Well you're still an asshole with a dog head," she said, somewhat distractedly, clearly unable to divide her attention between fighting and trading verbal barbs. This would be over quickly.

Though her motions were rapid and determined, the Courier's skill with a knife was untrained and sloppy. Vulpes took a step forward, forearm held out in her direction. She swung her blade at him again, and he pressed forward, accepting the minor cuts to his arm as he got in close enough to strike at her again.

She seemed to guess his plan and tried to skirt away, but he was quicker. He leapt at her and slammed his outstretched palm into her sternum. The force of the blow knocked the girl against the intake tower, bouncing her head off the concrete.

Vulpes took advantage of the moment of shock to knock away the knife and grab her by her armor's collar. By now the Courier had recovered enough to start struggling. He held on, despite her kicks to his unprotected shins and attempts to pull away from his hand.

"Killing me won't win you the war," the Courier bit out as she struggled. Reaching out to grab a firm hold of her hair, Inculta allowed himself a smile.

"The war is already won," Vulpes said smugly. "You're merely a nuisance I want to be rid of. It will be worth it just to see your sniper's face when he's forced to watch your death."

The Courier snarled and continued to fight against his hold, even as her movements further tore at her scalp. He started to drag her in the direction of her companion, figuring that if Armand hadn't yet taken him, Vulpes would certainly be able to give a distraction speed the process. It was then he heard the screams.

Too many, with no explosions to signify a howitzer shell or another round of fire from the airplane. He moved to look at the southern bridge and saw the sniper staring bewilderedly at a pile of dead Legionaries.

The sniper noticed Vulpes approach, and immediately took aim. The frumentarius dragged the Courier in front of him, his other hand going for his ripper when he felt something wrap around his wrist and squeeze.

The hand holding the Courier in place suddenly went limp as the bones in his arm and wrist were crushed by an invisible force. Looking up, he saw a huge ripple in the air and realized he was under attack by someone using a Stealth Boy. Before he could strike out at what was undoubtedly the Courier's super mutant, he was lifted by his now shattered arm and tossed off the bridge.

The Courier disappeared from his view as he tumbled over the ledge. As he fell, he saw the great wall of the Hoover Dam, another target slipping from his fingers. The Colorado River rushed up to meet him, then there was darkness.

*.*.*

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Layla heard Lily ask as she stared over the ledge. Vulpes' people either lay dead on the bridge or were in the process of falling to their doom after the super mutant had knocked them off.

"I'm… Yes… Thank you," she said as she rubbed her still smarting scalp; that bastard had nearly ripped out her hair. She looked up as Boone made it back to her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked gruffly. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm okay," she answered, then started gathering her dropped weapons. Still amazed, she looked back over the side of the bridge. There were several bodies floating in the Colorado River now, none moving of their own accord.

"Huh…" Layla said, then a thought occurred to her. "Lily! You're using a Stealth-Boy!"

The super mutant suddenly became visible. "Just a little, dear."

"You know you're not supposed to-"

"We'd better keep moving," Boone interrupted. Layla sighed; he was right. She turned back to the super mutant, but Lily had vanished again.

"We're going to have a talk about this later!" Layla yelled at the air. She looked around the area. It looked like the big guy, Blood Moon, and the rest of his team had fled after the bombing. So much for loyalty.

"Well, let's go find Delta team," she said to Boone, the shock of the situation finally starting to wear off. "Rangers get so annoyed when you're late."

Boone nodded, and Layla took one last look over the bridge before they moved on.

They ran the entire way to the checkpoint building. There was no further trouble; the remaining Legionaries in the area had been taken out by the Boomers. Once they emerged from the building, Layla found herself relieved to see a group of familiar rangers.

"Castles!" Layla called out, and the vet turned to face her.

"We thought we were going to have to go on without you," the man said, sounding pleased to see them.

"And leave you unescorted? That wouldn't be very polite," Layla answered, looking across the dam. "How are we doing?" she asked the ranger, who shook his head.

"Up here's not so bad, as you can see. But they got into the dam from the east side, and more keep coming. I think they sent a few centuries further down the Colorado."

Her stomach twisted at that; if they were coming from behind, Arcade, Cass and all the wounded would be the first in their way.

"Gannon and Cass can take care of themselves," Boone murmured next to her.

"I sure hope so," Layla answered quietly.

"Come on, kids," said Anders, one of Castles' Delta team. "Time to be big damn heroes."

"Don't heroes usually end up dead?" Layla asked as they started walking.

"Depends," Anders said casually. "Are we in a comic book or a post-apocalyptic fairytale?"

"My life has definitely resembled a comic book lately," Layla answered flatly.

"In that case, only some of us are screwed. Didn't they used to kill off the interesting characters to drive up sales?"

"That sounds about right," Presley said from Anders' side.

"Cut the chatter," Castles interrupted as he drew his ranger Sequoia. "We've got hostiles coming."

Layla looked ahead to see a fresh wave of Legionaries coming their way.

*.*.*

Chris Haversam sat tucked behind the staircase to the second floor of the motel in Novac, mercifully unnoticed in the chaos going on around them. Cliff Briscoe was dying in his arms. The gift store owner had been shot early in the confusion. Chris needed to get him to Ada, but he'd have to cross the entire courtyard, and it was a kill zone.

When he'd settled into Novac, Manny had warned him this day might come. Now he wished he'd listened, maybe moved on to California and far away from the Legion.

The Legionaries' first attack had been repelled by Ranger Andy, but now they waited just outside of the gate taking shots at any visible townsfolk. If anyone came out of hiding from either the town or the hotel, they got shot by either the Legionaries or Andy. The ranger had set himself up behind the broken down car in the courtyard, picking off any Legionaries who came into view. There were wounded townspeople and a few Legionaries sprawled along the spotty patches of grass.

Manny Vargas hadn't stopped firing his rifle out of the mouth of the dinosaur since the fighting started. The Legionaries just kept coming. Most that got by Manny were gathering at the gas station across from the motel. They had to be waiting to join the others when they punched through the gate.

Now it was just a matter of time. Either Andy would miss long enough for a Legionary to break through, or he'd run out of ammunition. It couldn't be long before Manny would run out too. Then the horde would attack. Haversam hadn't thought it would end like this. But there was no hope for the town now.

As if on cue, a Legionary charged from the gate. Andy's shots went wide and the man managed to get all the way to the ranger. The soldier slammed his magnum into the Legionary's face, then drew a combat knife and shoved it into his chest.

The Legionary howled and fell, but the distraction had let three more into the courtyard. Andy would soon be overtaken.

Haversam thought to let Cliff go and try to help the older man, but he knew it was useless. They swarmed Andy just as a loud noise washed over the town.

The Legionaries and Ranger looked up in the air, confused. But Haversam knew that noise. He'd worked on those engines. He looked up as the Bright Brotherhood's rockets came into view overhead, touching down near the gas station. There were shouts and the sound of gun fire as they landed.

The three legionaries seemed to remember they were in the middle of a fight at the same time and turned back to Andy. The ranger stabbed one before he finished turning and shot another in the face. The third, however, managed to get his machete free and moved to swing it, but never got the chance as his head exploded.

Looking toward the gate, Haversam saw Harland lower his rifle. Jason Bright stepped around him, and over the bodies of the remaining Legionaries gathered there.

"Jason!" Haversam cried, and the glowing ghoul spotted him.

"Chris! I would not have expected to find you in this chaos." He raised his hands. "Truly we were meant to find you and aid these people."

Ranger Andy seemed to have shrugged of his confusion and gladly accepted the help the ghouls were offering.

"There are more coming," Manny cried from the dinosaur. "A lot more!"

"Then we shall show them the righteous fury of the Creator!" Jason said, and his followers cheered.

Chris noticed Harland shake his head with a sigh, but reload his rifle all the same

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a Happy New Year! Be safe, make sure you've got a place to crash if you get crunked. I don't want to lose readers from unnecessary drunken death. I can lose them on my own, thank you.<p> 


	7. Masters of Our Fates

"Jesus," Layla whispered.

She, Boone, ED-E and the vet rangers from both Delta and Alpha units had made it to other side of the dam and found the path to Lanius' camp. There was little resistance as they came within sight of the area.

A drawbridge led into the camp, surrounded by fences. Outside the gates were crucifixes. Several crucifixes. They were empty, but Layla had to assume the Legion didn't plan on keeping them that way for long.

Layla had felt nothing but pure adrenaline since escaping Vulpes's ambush. No fear or apprehension, just moving and shooting and reloading. She'd occasionally shove a stimpak into Boone or one of the rangers if they got wounded, a few times on herself as well. There was no time to think of how likely it was she was going to die, so she continued on numbly.

But the sight of those crucifixes, waiting to be filled with NCR soldiers, or possibly her and her friends, finally made her feel something: anger.

"Good, no one's looking for us," Ranger Castles said, interrupting her thoughts. "I don't know if it's a trap or something's going on," he continued, "but let's not waste an opportunity to get in. Be quick and quiet," he finished, nodding to Anders, who took point.

They started their quiet approach. Layla pulled her .45 out of her armor. She'd switched to her old 10mm, worried she'd run out of ammunition for the larger gun. Now that she was angry, she felt there'd be a particular satisfaction in reigning destruction on the Legion with the Burned Man's gun.

"What the hell?" Anders cried, looking beyond the gates to the camp.

"Keep it down," Castles hissed. "What is it?"

"Look for yourself."

Layla peeked around Boone, who stood in front of her, and had to keep herself from laughing. The Remnants had joined the party, and it didn't look like the Legion had been prepared for them.

*.*.*

Mags dove into a tent. She needed to get a stim into her leg and reload before the decanus caught up to her. She'd been separated O'Hanaran and Poindexter in the confusion a while back, not long after they'd repelled the group of Legionaries in the medical tent.

The soldier grunted as she jammed the needle of a stimpak into her thigh. She didn't have time to wrap the cut going down her leg. She'd worry about that later.

Getting to her feet, she slid another magazine into her rifle and moved to the tent opening. Just as she began pushing aside the flap with the tip of her rifle, it was ripped open. On the other end was the fucking decanus.

The Legionary rushed at her, swinging a curved blade wildly. Mags stumbled on her still-healing leg and fell on her back. The man standing over her laughed, but she laughed back and shot his stomach open.

Sitting up, she paled as she saw that three others had followed the decanus in. They made their way to her as she got to her feet. She shot one in the face, but the next got within range and swung his spear. She saved her head by deflecting the blow with her rifle, but the gun was knocked out of her hands.

Now she was fucked, and going by the Legionary's sickly smile, he thought the same. He reached for her when a voice rang out from the front of the tent.

"Catch you fuckers at a bad time?"

Both Legionaries turned as Mags caught sight of Chief Hanlon, flanked by two veteran rangers. They shot the two Legionaries before either got the chance to raise their weapons.

"What took you guys so long?" Mags asked. Hanlon laughed.

"They had a little party for us in the resort building. We thought it would be rude to leave without at least saying hello."

She'd figured as much, though she was relieved the rangers had made it out. "Have you seen my men?" she asked.

"This way." Hanlon motioned to the tent flap.

Going back outside, Mags could see the immediate difference in the battle since the rangers showed up. Legionaries were scrambling for cover, most not making it as sharpshooters picked them off. The woman allowed herself a tight grin as she caught sight of Poindexter and O'Hanrahan still on their feet. They were mopping up the last of a group of veteran Legionaries who'd made a stand near the firing range.

With the rangers' aid they finished quickly, and soon the two men ran up to join her.

"We did it," Poindexter said breathlessly as he reached Mags. "And we didn't get killed."

"Thank Jesus it's over," O'Hanrahan added, slinging his rifle over his shoulder.

"Don't get comfortable," said Mags, looking around the camp. "We're on body bag duty."

"Who ordered that?" Poindexter asked, sounding exasperated.

"I did," Mags answered. "Now get moving."

*.*.*

"Your rangers friends aren't as concerned with us as I feared," Judah Kreger said as he and Layla crouched behind a couple crates in Lanius's camp.

"They're not picky when they don't want to be," The Courier answered. "Glad you guys made it."

"We were starting to wonder what happened to you," the old man said, then looked up from his spot and shot an oncoming Legionary.

"We had some setbacks," Layla said, checking over her shoulder. Boone was trying to pick off a sharpshooter from the guard tower. ED-E hovered just behind him, watching for surprise attacks.

"Have you see Lanius?" she asked the enclave captain, who shook his head.

"Not yet, but we haven't been able to get this close to the main camp until now."

"Sniper's down," Boone said as he approached from behind. Layla turned to find him looking at the Remnants, then giving her a disbelieving look. She gave him an innocent smile, then looked up when she heard someone calling to her from further in the camp.

"We'd better go help your ranger friends," Cannibal Johnson said, and Layla looked to where he pointed. Castles and his team were exchanging fire closer to the center of camp with a pack of praetorians and a few centurions.

"We're coming!" she yelled back, checked to make sure Boone and ED-E were following her and moved up to join Johnson and Moreno.

"I don't know why you candy asses have been having so much trouble with these idiots," Moreno said as they approached. Layla was actually fairly certain he'd pointed that at Boone, but the sniper's business scowl remained unchanged as they made their way for the center of the camp.

With their help, Castles and his team were able to repel the attack. The remaining Legionaries retreated back up the hill to regroup, and the camp grew quiet.

Layla took advantage of the lull in the chaos to survey everyone's injuries. They were in good shape, with only a few minor wounds. Layla had been shot in the shoulder, but it didn't seem to have hit anywhere crucial.

"Layla."

She turned to find Doc Henry was beckoning to her. "Let me patch up your side."

"What?" She looked down to find she was bleeding heavily. A decanus had managed to score a hit on her at the dam, and she'd forgotten about it.

They ducked behind a crate with Kreger. Boone and ED-E kept guard while the doctor slapped a self-adhesive bandage on the wound.

Standing, the Courier was about to suggest they try for the hill when she heard a cry.

"There he is!"

Layla turned to see what Anders was yelling about. The tallest Legionary she'd ever seen had appeared on the top of the hill, staring down at them. Lanius had finally joined the battle.

"Jesus, he's big," she sputtered. The man had to be more than seven feet tall and completely made of muscle. Castles and his team were already running up the hill. The Legate pulled a massive blade off his back and, in one swift move, lopped off Presley's head.

Layla shrieked without meaning to, then caught sight of a new batch of Legionaries coming their way from outside the gate.

"Boone, help them," she called to the sniper, who began firing at Lanius. "Remnants, take the new group." The former Enclave members all moved toward the gate as Layla started running for the hill.

By now Lanius had downed Anders, and only Castles was left on his feet. Just as Layla reached the path leading up the hill, the Legate side-stepped the ranger's knife and swung low, cutting off one of Castles's legs. The man fell with a strangled cry. Now that he'd finished with the Rangers, Lanius merely stood at the top of the stairs, staring directly at Layla.

"I would speak with you, Courier," the Legionary boomed. She stopped in her tracks.

"You're not going up there," Boone hissed from her side.

"It'll be okay, just cover me."

"I've already shot him four times," the sniper continued. "I don't think he noticed."

That didn't fill her with confidence, but the man was still just staring at them. She'd been told many times that Lanius was supposed to be all about honor, but she'd also been told he was ruthless.

"It'll be okay. If something happens, just start shooting," Layla said firmly. Boone looked like he was going to argue further, but he scowled and looked away.

Her head spun as she started walking. _Think think think_, she admonished herself. Half of an idea struck her as she followed the path up the hill; if he had any sense, he'd be worried about an ambush like the one Hanlon had pulled last time. He'd be an idiot if he hadn't learned from Joshua's mistakes. If she could bluff this right, maybe she could make him think there was another trap waiting for him.

Stopping short of his immediate range, Layla felt her stomach ball into a knot. She could see Castles lying just beyond the Legionary.

"You bear the insignia of the Bear, but are not one of her soldiers," Lanius rumbled.

"I'm not in the army," Layla said, trying to ignore how lame she sounded, "but I'm one of them."

"You fight with words, like all the Sunset people, but I wonder if you talk in more than frightened pleas and useless deceptions backed with no strength."

"Strength doesn't only come in direct violence, but you know of that," Layla answered. "If you make the right move here, you might be able to avoid another disaster."

"The tricks of your predecessors are known," Lanius boomed. "But the strength of the Legion will show the West its rightful master. Violence will crush the weak and awaken the strong. Violence has awoken you." Lanius gestured to her. "I can see it on your face, where two bullets left their mark." Layla had to stop from touching her face. He was right; things had changed since Benny had shot her. That didn't matter now.

"The roads leading west are filled with the crucifixes of those who tried to negotiate with us," Lanius continued. "We will move forward and walk the road paved in the bodies of the NCR."

That was it; Layla was done talking. She'd thought of another angle, the main flaw of the Legion: they were built for war. If she convinced him to go back east and strengthen the hold on his lands, he would probably do it. But the temporary victory now would make things far more devastating when they came back, further strengthened. So she did the sensible thing.

"You're not taking this dam, and I'm here to stop you."

Laughter rumbled from the Legate, then he spoke.

"I am glad the two of you came to me," he said, and Layla felt the hair on the back of her neck stand. "We shall see how brave you are when nailed to the walls of Hoover Dam, your bodies facing west so you can watch your world die."

He began pulling the gigantic sword off his back as Layla backpedaled. Bullets pinged off his armor as Boone opened fire, and the Courier retreated down the path to regroup. She barely had time to draw her gun before the legate was on her, swinging.

Layla dove out of the way, barely avoiding getting split in two. Lanius backed off his assault, instead making his way toward Boone as the sniper reloaded.

Layla fired into the Legate's back as he turned away. She was becoming very concerned that the shots she was landing weren't even slowing him down. As he ignored her and continued toward Boone, Layla scrambled to her feet and ran for them.

Holstering her pistol, she pulled the shotgun off her back and fired nearly point-blank into Lanius' back. The Legionary roared and spun around, swinging his blade as he did.

The swing was wild, and only the flat of the blade collided with Layla's side. She flew back from the impact, slamming into a boulder before she hit the ground. She lay on her back a moment, wide eyes staring at the sky as she waited for the shock to wear off. It felt like all her bones had been broken.

Feelings other than pain started coming back to her as she was finally able to breath again. Groaning, she closed her eyes; at least three ribs were definitely broken, she could tell before she even moved.

Just as she started to sit up, she felt a hand at her back helping her up. Opening her eyes again, she found Boone kneeling at her side.

"Can you move? Are you okay?" he asked rapidly.

"Yeah, just knocked the wind out of me," Layla answered. "Where is he?"

"The guy with the gatling laser hit him from behind," the sniper answered. Layla sighed. Moreno had rescued them, and he wasn't going to let her hear the end of it. Standing with Boone's help, she saw ED-E come flying their way, whistling rapidly. Lanius was right behind him.

He brushed by the robot and swung his blade at Boone and Layla. They both managed to skirt away. Layla fired shots that pinged off the man's helmet while Boone readied his rifle. She'd thought the Legate would press his attack toward her, or turn to Boone, but he suddenly moved away from them.

She must have finally hit him somewhere good, as she caught sight of him pulling a packet of healing powder from his armor. Then she saw something flying in their direction. A grenade. It landed close by and exploded before they could scramble away. Boone shielded Layla, taking the brunt of the blast that knocked them both off their feet.

The world spun as Layla tried to get back on her feet. It took her a moment to realize Boone had landed partially on top of her. Crawling out from under him, she felt her stomach twist painfully at his limp, bloodied form.

"Boone?"

He didn't respond, and she reached to check his pulse with a shaking hand.

He was alive. The concussion of the blast had knocked him out. He had a few minor burns, and his head was bleeding, but it looked like he'd avoided any serious injury. She quickly jabbed him with a stimpak, then realized she'd been ignoring Lanius.

The Legate standing a few yards away from her, waiting. The Courier gently lowered Boone's head to the ground, then stood.

"Your champion is defeated, woman," Lanius said, still unmoving. "Submit and I will grant you a swifter death than you deserve."

Layla glowered as she pulled the chainsaw off her back. Brutus jumped to life in her hands, and the legate laughed.

"You are a fool to face me alone," said Lanius.

"And you're not the first Legionary I've killed with this," Layla retorted.

*.*.*

The ghoul - Andy was pretty sure he'd heard his name was Harland - shot the final Legionary square in the eye. The shot echoed in the eerie silence of the courtyard.

"Manny, what's going on?" the ranger shouted up toward the dinosaur's mouth.

"We're clear," the sniper yelled out. "At least for now."

"Keep your eyes open," Andy called back. "I'll send up Jonas in a minute." He cast his eyes around for their night shift sniper. The kid had taken over Boone's job a few months ago, having some experience with a rifle.

He spotted Jonas near the stairs, then frowned when he realized what he was looking at. A small crowd surrounded Ada Straus kneeling over the body of Cliff Briscoe.

Andy approached, and the crowd parted to let him through. Ada looked up when he approached and shook her head slowly. Haversam, who had stayed with the Cliff the whole battle, leaned over and closed the man's eyes.

*.*.*

Arcade knew he was supposed to stay inside with the other doctors. But judging by the sounds coming from outside the tent, things weren't going well. So instead of waiting for the entire Legion army to come down on him, he left to find his companions.

There were Legionaries everywhere. He spotted Cass behind the sandbag barricade near the entrance of the camp and ran for her. Just as Arcade joined her, he heard Veronica cry out nearby.

"Oh shit. Oh fuck ow ow ow!"

"What? What is it?" Cass yelled as she stooped down to reload. The scribe hunched down next to them.

"I've been shot!"

"Join the club, sister. I've got three working so far," Cass muttered.

"It really freaking hurts!"

"I how did it get through your armor?" Cass asked, then popped up and unloaded on the Legionaries still pressing them.

"There are weak spots on the armpits. Ow-fuck that hurts!" the scribe cried. "I don't think I can use my punching arm."

"Well shit." Cass ducked down again. Arcade leaned over to barricade and fired when she did, hoping it would keep them from advancing too fast.

"Where's Raul?" the doctor yelled as he crouched back down. He put a hand to his head, thinking he'd felt a bullet graze his hair. He pulled the hand away, relieved to find no blood.

"He's on the other side of the camp," Cass answered. "Veronica's supposed to be backing him up."

"Sorry, I'm dying!" Veronica cried. She turned to Arcade. "Do you have an extra gun?"

"Yeah." He tossed her his backup laser pistol. Veronica shoved in an energy cell and stood.

"Okay, I'm going back."

"Are you crazy?" Arcade cried, "That way just got swarmed with Legionaries. It's a kill zone!"

"Lily's got my back," Veronica yelled as she started off.

"Lily's here?" Arcade asked.

"Yeah, I think she's a little confused though," Cass replied as she reloaded again. "Keeps calling me Priestess Jain."

That couldn't be good, but it looked like she was getting the job done. As Veronica ran, Legionaries around her suddenly went flying or had huge gashes cut down their chests by an invisible blade.

Focusing on the Legionaries marching toward the front of the medical camp, he paled. There seemed to be more now than before.

"We can't take them all," he said to Cass, who gave him a grim smile.

"You'd better cause enough trouble to make them kill you. The both of us are too pretty for a cross, I'm afraid."

Arcade's stomach dropped at that thought, and he opened fire on the oncoming group. There were about seven coming their way. They were being cautious in their advance, probably on the lookout for whatever invisible trap had killed their comrades.

Something caught the doctor's eye as he leaned back to reload. A new group of five Legionaries headed by a centurion appeared on the rock ridge on the side of the camp, boxing them in. Arcade didn't even get a chance to warn Cass before they opened fire.

Arcade caught a round in the leg, and Cass took another in the side. The woman swore loudly as she turned her gun toward the other group. They were coming too quickly.

"Well, that's it," Arcade said, back pressed to the sandbags. "It's been good working with you."

"Cram it. We're not dead yet," Cass muttered, blowing the head off one of the Legionaries closing in on them.

"I'm glad we're bonding here," the doctor said sourly, shooting into the mass.

The Legionaries coming from the dam had pressed closer as well, and Arcade shot one in the face as he got close enough to try to grab the doctor. There was another to take his place, and Arcade was running low on energy cells.

He caught sight of a man with a super sledge towering over Cass. The Legionary raised his arms to swing, but his head suddenly exploded.

"_HEY!" _a voice boomed from beyond the medical camp, and Arcade gaped when he saw Layla standing on the crest of the hill leading up to the dam. Boone was at her side, rifle trained on the surrounding Legionaries. He looked singed and bloodied. The Courier looked half crazed; covered in blood with one arm tucked unnaturally against her side, the other holding something. Cass, Arcade, and the Legionaries all stopped to look up at her.

"Your leader is dead. Throw down you weapons or fall on them!" The Courier shouted, then held up the metal object. It took Arcade a moment to realize it was Lanius' helmet, complete with his severed head. The shocked silence was broken by Cass first.

"Mother _fucker!"_

* * *

><p>We will be concluding 'In War, Resolution' on Saturday. After that, there's going to be a two week break. Then, on the 21st, we will be back with 'The Last Frontiersmen.'<p>

Thank you for reading, and double thank you if you review or favorite or add an alert. :D_  
><em>


	8. Captains of Our Souls

"Three boxes," said Gorobets.

"Ha, you're funny," Ranger Spelling responded. "I'm thinking a crate."

"_What? _That's extortion!"

"You know, I hear there's a party going on in the visitor's center… Maybe we ought to head over."

"You're a dirty bastard, you know that?" the lieutenant grumbled. Spelling and Ranger Higgs stood just below the ridge 1st Recon had trapped themselves on, holding a ladder. The squad had been waiting for over an hour after watching the remaining Legionaries retreat back across the river. Gorobets hadn't exactly been happy when the two rangers showed up with smug grins on their faces.

"Well, unless I'm a well-fed bastard, you're not going anywhere," said the ranger.

"How did you even know about them…" the lieutenant trailed off, then turned to Sterling. "This is your doing."

The ex-ranger shrugged innocently. "It may have come up in conversation."

Gorobets shook his head; he should have known. Now he was going to have to share his squirreled away Fancy Lads Snack Cakes with half the rangers at the dam.

"Half a crate. That's six boxes," the lieutenant said, glowering. "We'll barely have any left."

Spelling and Higgs looked at each other. They turned away from the ridge and spoke in low voices for a few moments. Turning back, Spelling was all smiles.

"Half a crate of cakes, and a box of bubblegum."

"Done." Gorobets continued glaring at the rangers as they gleefully raised the ladder. Once he'd climbed down, he gave Spelling a filthy look.

"Next time someone's about to cave your head in, I'm going to let them."

Spelling laughed. "That was you shooting those skirts off me? Well shit, I might have made you a better deal if I'd known that."

"I told you they'd be dicks," Betsy grumbled as she hopped off the ladder.

*.*.*

Layla bit her lip as she looked at the canister in Arcade's hands.

"Do we have to?"

The doctor sighed. "Your arm is very badly damaged. If we don't do something soon, I can't promise you'll get full use of your hand back." He gave her a look of thinning patience and tapped the canister. "Veronica's already had a dose today. It's very effective."

"Seems like bad taste to use a Legion invention," Layla said sourly as she gave the bottle a dubious look.

"Be that as it may, do you want fully functioning arms, or potential permanent disability?"

The Courier frowned. "Okay, let's do it."

"Good." The doctor cleaned a spot on her arm. She was clad in her undershirt and what was left of the lower half of her armor. The top had been destroyed again in the fight. She'd have to remake it nearly from scratch. Fortunately her 1st Recon beret and the few other lucky charms she kept in the inner pockets were unharmed.

Lanius had come very close to taking her arm off. She got his head, so she figured it all worked out. There may have been some concern about whether she could take a man half again as tall as she, far stronger and definitely better trained, but she'd had an advantage. She hadn't just been pissed off, she'd been in full 'Deranged Mama Bear' mode.

If she'd screwed up, been killed, knocked out, disarmed or whatever, it wasn't her fate she was worried about. Boone had been lying a few yards away from where she and Lanius fought, unconscious and helpless. Layla wasn't going to let the Legion get their hands on him.

The mildly disturbing thoughts of how satisfying it was to lop off a man's head was suddenly interrupted by the prick of a needle in her arm. The hydra was in her system now. Layla had been in so much pain when the adrenaline from battle had worn off that she'd allowed the Followers to give her some Med-X. Now, however, her arm started tingling unpleasantly.

"Okay, now it feels like my arm's covered in scorpions," she said, and Arcade nodded.

"That's about right."

"Now I can't feel it, and I can't move it!" the Courier said, starting to panic.

"Calm down," the doctor said calmly. "That's the second phase. You won't be able to feel it for a while. Movement will return soon. Usually the effects are immediate and the side effects wear off in moments, but you sustained a very serious injury." He leaned over to his supplies, coming back with a sling. "You're going to have to wear this for a few days."

Layla sighed, but accepted the sling and put it on.

"Thanks, doc," she said. When it was all said and done, she'd ended up with three bullets lodged in her, four broken ribs, one arm with severe ligament damage, and Lanius had managed to hit her in her bad leg.

"I've got other people to tend to," Arcade said, looking around the full tent. "The hydra should work on your leg as well. Take your time getting used to it before you go traipsing off."

"Yes sir," Layla answered. The doctor gave her uninjured shoulder a squeeze and moved on.

The Courier looked around the room, frowning. There were a lot of wounded soldiers. Too many. And far too many beyond that were getting buried or shipped back to California in a box.

Standing, she tested her footing. Her leg tingled, but she could walk on it. She gathered up the remains of her armor and her weapons and vacated the area. Someone else probably needed the bed more than she did.

She moved along the lines of injured, searching. Layla knew all her companions were alive, wounds already treated, but she was looking for someone else.

After a few minutes of searching, she finally spotted Ranger Castles lying on a cot, still unconscious. Layla had nearly called the man a lost cause, but Doctor Henry had stabilized him before the Remnants had flown off. His leg ended in a clean cut at the knee, now heavily bandaged. He was the only member of Delta team to survive the battle.

She sat carefully at the head of his bed, making sure not to disturb the man. Once she was settled, she finally started hearing the noises around her. Groaning, doctors giving out orders and an occasional pained scream filled the tent. Layla wanted to go help the doctors, but just the walk over to Castles had tired her out.

Looking around, she wished one of her friends were here with her. This was the first time she'd had to think, and now she was regretting not asking Boone to stay with her after he'd escorted her to the tent. Now she was starting to remember the things she'd seen today.

The memory plaguing her at the moment was what they'd found in Lanius' tent. There'd been a terrified slave tied to a bed on one side, and a pile of NCR soldier corpses on the other. The bodies looked like they'd been carefully cut apart, and Doc Henry had refused to tell her if they'd been alive when they'd been mutilated-

Castles made a noise, and Layla looked down at him. His eyes were starting to flutter open. The man focused on her, then looked around.

"What- What happened?"

"You're safe. Lanius nearly killed you," she answered.

"Where's the rest of Delta?" His face hardened when she shook her head and tears sprung to her eyes. He lay back, then looked down at the stump where his leg used to be.

"Was it worth it? Did we get him?" he asked after a minute. Layla smiled through tears.

"Lanius is dead. The rest are running their asses back east. I think we did good."

Castles chuckled. "I guess so… My fiancée's going to be happy I'm coming home." He laughed harder. "Most of me, anyway."

The Courier tried to banish her sudden urge to start crying hysterically. The ranger looked up at her and sighed.

"It's okay, I'm… I'll live," he said. "Things aren't so bad when you're doped up. Though I don't know how cheery I'll be once whatever they've got me on wears off."

She nodded as she tried to think of something to say. Instead she just barely managed to keep her crying down to a gentle stream of tears.

"Layla."

She turned her head to find Arcade coming her way. He stopped short when he got a look at her face.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go find Veronica. I hear there's a big party at the dam."

She frowned, wiping her eyes with her uninjured arm. "I'm okay. I can help here."

"Not with a healing arm you can't," Arcade admonished. "Come on, I'm sure people are looking for the hero of the day."

The Courier bit her lip, looking along the rows of injured soldiers. "I don't think I feel like partying."

"Go," Castles said from behind, and she turned to look as he continued. "Come back when you feel better. People are supposed to be upbeat when they deal with the injured." He looked at Arcade. "Right?"

"Right," the doctor answered automatically. Layla looked at them, unsure.

"Go on," Castles said, laying his head back on the cot. "Before I start asking uncomfortable questions about that pack of Enclave soldiers who knew you by name."

Arcade and Layla both quickly scurried away.

*.*.*

Raul cocked his head at the sight before him. He was looking at two grown women explaining to a nightkin what day it was. Lily's Stealth Boy supply had run out, and she'd been a little… confused since. They were gathered In the quarters the NCR had provided, licking their assorted wounds.

"The Master asked me to keep you safe. And Grandma always keeps her promises," the super mutant boomed.

"No no no," Veronica admonished gently. The scribe was out of her power armor now, dressed in her old scribe robes as she shook her head at the nightkin. "You're Lily, you're 203 and we're at the Hoover Dam."

"And Layla asked you to be here," Cass added. "She doesn't need you calling her 'The Master.' It's kinda weird."

The nightkin gave her a confused expression, then she looked down at her hands.

"Doctor Henry is going to be very cross with Grandma," she said. Veronica sighed.

"I think you're right."

Raul chuckled, despite himself. Lily was doing a lot better now, which was good. The nightkin had saved his ass several times during the fight, especially when she'd returned with Veronica. By what the others had said, Lily had saved them all several times today.

That included Boone, who stood nearby, watching the others. He'd been quiet, even for him. The ghoul decided he'd get him to talk later. Something was obviously bothering him.

"Hey guys," came from the doorway, and Raul turned to see Layla limping their way. ED-E trailed behind her, beeping cheerily.

"Gannon was supposed to send for us when you were leaving," Boone grumbled. The Courier gave him a knowing look.

"I snuck out without telling him." She looked to Cass and Veronica. "How is she?"

"Better," Cass answered. "Right?" she asked the nightkin.

"Grandma's head is a little tingly right now," Lily answered. "But I'm happy to see you're okay, dear." she said to Layla.

"I'll be fine in a day or two," the Courier answered, a little too quickly. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh, hey, we won, right?"

"Yep," Raul answered. "Unless you were rooting for the Legion."

"I saved something real good for the victory celebration," Layla said, limping for the door. "Veronica, come give me a hand. You guys go find a ranger or two and meet us on the guard tower. We'll need help."

The others gave her a suspicious look, but Raul shrugged and went off to find someone.

*.*.*

Layla was grinning as she handed a bag to Veronica.

"What are these again?" the scribe asked, starting to open the pouch.

"No peeking. You'll see when we get back above."

They walked through the corridors of the dam, trying to find the quickest way to the guard tower. As they passed near the door to the offices, a voice rang out.

"Granville!"

Layla turned to find General Oliver waving her down. She stopped as he approached.

"We're sending the news back home about what you've done," he said. "You've got our thanks."

"I was just doing what I had to," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "I couldn't have done with without my team or the others who fought here."

Oliver nodded. "Things aren't going to be quiet here for long... I'm sure there will be people in the NCR who will look for your help."

"Well, you know where to find me," the Courier answered, and Oliver nodded.

"I'm sure you want to go celebrate or rest."

Layla nodded, then let out a sigh as he finally left. Layla turned back the way they'd been going, and Veronica caught the look she was making.

"What's that face about?"

"Uh… I'm not sure how well it would have gone over if he'd known what was in that bag."

"What is it?" Veronica cried, pulling it open again.

"No peeking!"

They made their way up the guard tower to find Raul waiting with a couple of rangers.

"Perfect," Layla said, then opened the bag while Veronica held it. "You guys better enjoy these. I had to leave behind two bars of gold to carry them."

The others gave her strange looks as she rooted through the bag. A moment later the girl pulled out a bunch of cardboard cylinders.

"…What are those? Bombs?" one of the rangers asked. Layla caught the name 'Gifford' on his armor.

"They're fireworks," Layla said, piling them in the soldier's hands. "You launch them like regular mortars, I think. I found them at a ghost casino."

"You're a strange girl, you know that?" the vet said, shaking his head.

"I've heard that before. Anyway, if we launch them here, everyone in the Mojave ought to see. That should help the party along."

"You're the boss," Gifford said. They started busying themselves with the tubes as Layla looked along the dam, now that she had a good vantage point. The damage to the structure had been superficial, she'd been told. The Boomers had been very precise in their runs. She'd have to go thank them once things calmed down.

As she continued looking around, she spotted Boone at the base of the guard tower. Layla sighed, he'd been acting strangely since the battle had ended. She was pretty sure she knew why.

"ED-E," she murmured, "stay with Veronica for now."

The robot blew her an electronic raspberry, then hovered over to the scribe as Layla gingerly climbed down the ladder back inside. She emerged from the guard tower to find Boone still against it.

The sniper looked her way, face unreadable. He pushed off the building and moved to her. He looked like he was trying to come up with something to say.

"I'm sorry," he said finally, and Layla suddenly felt ill.

"For what?" she managed to croak.

"I left you to fight Lanius alone."

"Oh. Oh that?" she laughed nervously. "Come on." He gave her a grim look, and she smiled. "If you hadn't jumped in front of that grenade, I'd have had to fight with half my face missing."

The sniper frowned, but nodded. They stood looking at each other a few more moments. Time stretched on, and Layla felt like her stomach was turning inside out as the pause became more tense and awkward.

"Boone…" She had to say something; the tension was killing her. "I know you - we said… things. But it was the heat of the moment. We thought we were going to die and all that. So…don't think I'm going to hold you to anything you may or may not have been hinting at. If you want-"

He interrupted by pulling her into a crushing kiss that made her forget what she'd been saying.

*.*.*

Chief Hanlon had been getting reports of the results of the battle for a few hours now. The Legion was retreating. Without leadership, they were panicked.

Other areas had fared well; Forlorn Hope had little trouble repelling the attack mounted against them. McCarran was practically untouched, as was the Strip.

The only real losses suffered, aside from the casualties at the dam, were Rangers stations Echo and Delta. Delta had lost all but two of their rangers. Echo had been completely wiped out.

Some of the towns by the river had been hit. He'd heard Novac had barely survived their attack, aided by a pack of 'space-ghouls' as old Andy put it.

It hadn't been an easy victory, but the NCR had won. Hanlon owed Layla another beer. The chief got the feeling the whole country owed her one today.

"Hey, look!" said one of the other rangers on the balcony.

Hanlon turned to see what the fuss was about. There were bright explosions lighting up the sky. Fireworks. He hadn't seen any since he was last in California. They were just visible to the east, had to be at the dam. The Chief smiled at the sight.

*.*.*

Cass walked the halls of the dam, looking for Layla. There were things she wanted to tell her, like that she'd better not get a big head over this victory, or that she was proud to have been standing with her during the battle. Mostly though, she wanted to drag the girl out of her room to join the celebration. The Courier had sworn off partying lately, especially with Cass, but the former caravaneer would be damned if she was going to let her miss this one. Finding the door to the Courier's room, Cass kicked it in without so much as knocking.

There were a few things she was expecting on the other side of the door: Layla passed out on her bed, Layla fixing holes in her armor, Layla reading a book. She did not expect what she actually found. Layla was indeed in her bed. But so was Boone, and they were both very naked. The Courier shrieked when Cass burst through the door, covering herself. Cass broke the awkward silence that followed.

"Well it's about fucking time!"

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading! I'd like to take a moment to thank a few people. Firstly, my editor, who puts up with all my crap. Also, I'd like to thank my reviewers, especially PervyMonk and Whatshisface. Your constant support has meant a lot to me.<p>

So concludes the portion of our story that takes place during game events. We will continue beyond in our next story, 'The Last Frontiersmen,' which will begin on the 21st of this month. I'll see you then!


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